











i; :.;. 






THE ALHAMBRA 



BY 

WASHINGTON IRVING 



EDITED FOR THE USE OF SCHOOLS 
By ALICE H. WHITE 



-ootrO^C 



BOSTON, U.S.A. 

PUBLISHED BY GINN & COMPANY 
1902 






Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1891, by 

GINN & COMPANY, 
in the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. 



All Rights Reserved. 



BigSBgH La-n — i—imi-u ■ ■ i «H | 



Serial hercm u:v!sion 
The Lit I'^ss 

Cci;.;,' '. 



Typography by J. S. Cushing & Co., Boston, U.S.A. 
Presswork by Ginn & Co., Boston, U.S.A. 



U3 



PREFACE. 



In this edition of Irving's Alhambra the original has 
been abridged by the omission of part of The Journey, 
and of several other chapters entire. In such of the 
stories and legends as have been retained the necessary 
alterations have been made to suit them to the class of 
readers for whom the book is intended. 

Most of the Spanish words and phrases in which the 
work abounds have been left out, and in cases where the 
author himself has not furnished a translation, an English 
equivalent has been substituted. 

It is hoped that the charm of this masterpiece has not 
been impaired by these changes, all of which have received 
careful consideration. 

A few months ago one of the famous halls of the 
Alhambra was destroyed by fire, and that part of this 
interesting ruin no longer exists, except in the pages of 
Irving's fascinating chronicle. 

Thanks are due to Messrs. G. P. Putnam's Sons, to 
whom the copyright of Irving's works belongs, for the 
kind permission to use the Alhambra in this series. 

February, 1891. 



CONTENTS. 



PAGE 

The Journey i 



Palace of the Alhambra , 



25 



Important Negotiations — The Author succeeds to the Throne 

of boabdil 38 

Inhabitants of the Alhambra 44 

The Hall of Ambassadors 43 

Alhamar, the Founder of the Alhambra . . 55 

The Mysterious Chambers 63 

Panorama from the Tower of Comares 73 

The Balcony 81 

The Adventure of the Mason 85 

The Court of Lions 90 

Local Traditions 96 

The House of the Weathercock 99 

Legend of the Arabian Astrologer 102 

Legend of Prince Ahmed Al Kamel; or, the Pilgrim of Love . 123 

Legend of the Moor's Legacy 160 

Legend of the Three Beautiful Princesses 184 

Legend of the Rose of the Alhambra 211 

The Veteran 228 



vi CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

The Governor and the Notary 230 

Governor Manco and the Soldier 239 

The Crusade of the Grand Master of AlcAntara 257 

Spanish Romance 266 

Legend of Don Munio Sancho de Hinojosa ........ 269 

The Author's Farewell to Granada 277 



THE ALHAMBRA. 



■ooi^oo- 



THE JOURNEY. 

In the spring of 1829, the author of this work, whom 
curiosity had brought into Spain, made a rambling expedi- 
tion from Seville to Granada in company with a friend, a 
member of the Russian Embassy at Madrid. 

Many are apt to picture Spain to their imaginations as 
a soft southern region, decked out with the luxuriant charms 
of voluptuous Italy. On the contrary, though there are 
exceptions in some of the maritime provinces, yet, for the 
greater part, it is a stern, melancholy country, with rugged 
mountains, and long sweeping plains, destitute of trees, and 
indescribably silent and lonesome, partaking of the savage 
and solitary character of Africa. What adds to this silence 
and loneliness, is the absence of singing-birds, a natural 
consequence of the want of groves and hedges. The vul- 
ture and the eagle are seen wheeling about the mountain- 
cliffs, and soaring over the plains, and groups of shy 
bustards stalk about the heaths ; but the myriads of 
smaller birds, which animate the whole face of other 
countries, are met with but in few provinces in Spain, and 
in those chiefly among the orchards and gardens which 
surround the habitations of man. 

In the interior provinces the traveller occasionally trav- 



2 THE ALHAMBRA. 

erses great tracts cultivated with grain as far as the eye 
can reach, waving at times with verdure, at other times 
naked and sunburnt, but he looks around in vain for the 
hand that has tilled the soil. At length he perceives 
some village on a steep hill, or rugged crag, with moulder- 
ing battlements and ruined watch-tower : a stronghold, in 
old times against civil war or Moorish inroad ; for the cus- 
tom among the peasantry of congregating together for 
mutual protection is still kept up in most parts of Spain, 
in consequence of the maraudings of roving freebooters. 

But though a great part of Spain is deficient in the gar- 
niture of groves and forests, and the softer charms of 
ornamental cultivation, yet its scenery is noble in its sever- 
ity and in unison with the attributes of its people ; and I 
think that I better understand the proud, hardy, frugal, 
and abstemious Spaniard, his manly defiance of hardships, 
and contempt of effeminate indulgences, since I have seen 
the country he inhabits. 

There is something, too, in the sternly simple features 
of the Spanish landscape, that impresses on the soul a 
feeling of sublimity. The immense plains of the Castiles 
and of La Mancha, extending as far as the eye can reach, 
derive an interest from their very nakedness and immen- 
sity, and possess, in some degree, the solemn grandeur 
of the ocean. In ranging over these boundless wastes, 
the eye catches sight here and there of a struggling herd 
of cattle attended by a lonely herdsman, motionless as a 
statue, with his long slender pike tapering up like a lance 
into the air ; or beholds a long train of mules slowly mov- 

bat'-tle-ments : notched walls on the top of buildings, originally used 
only on fortifications. 

free'-boot-ers : robbers, highwaymen. 



THE JOURNEY. ' 3 

ing along the waste like a train of camels in the desert ; or 
a single horseman, armed with blunderbuss and stiletto, 
and prowling over the plain. Thus the country, the hab- 
its, the very looks of the people, have something of the 
Arabian character. The general insecurity of the country 
is evinced in the universal use of weapons. The herds- 
man in the field, the shepherd in the plain, has his musket 
and his knife. The wealthy villager rarely ventures to 
the market-town without his gun, and, perhaps, a servant 
on foot with a blunderbuss on his shoulder ; and the most 
petty journey is undertaken with the preparation of a war- 
like enterprise. 

The dangers of the road produce also a mode of travel- 
ling resembling, on a diminutive scale, the caravans of the 
East. The carriers congregate in convoys, and set off in 
large and well-armed trains on appointed days ; while addi- 
tional travellers swell their number and contribute to their 
strength. In this primitive way is the commerce of the 
country carried on. The muleteer is the general medium 
of traffic, and the legitimate traverser of the land, crossing 
the peninsula from the Pyrenees and the Asturias to the 
Alpuxarras, and even to the gates of Gibraltar. He lives 
frugally and hardily : his saddle-bags of coarse cloth hold 
his scanty stock of provisions ; a leathern bottle, hanging 
at his saddle-bow, contains wine or water, for a supply 
across barren mountains and thirsty plains ; a mule-cloth 
spread upon the ground is his bed at night, and his pack- 
saddle his pillow. His low, but clean-limbed and sinewy 
form betokens strength ; his complexion is dark and sun- 

blun'-der-buss : a short gun of large bore, capable of discharging many 
bullets, and intended to do much execution without accurate aim. 
sti-let'-to : a small, round, pointed dagger. 



4 THE ALHAMBRA. 

burnt ; his eye resolute, but quiet in its expression, except 
when kindled by sudden emotion ; his demeanor is frank, 
manly, and courteous, and he never passes you without 
a grave salutation: "God guard you!" "God be with 
you, Sir ! " 

As these men have often their whole fortune at stake 
upon the burden of their mules, they have their weapons 
at hand, slung to their saddles, and ready to be snatched 
out for desperate defence ; but their united numbers ren- 
der them secure against petty bands of marauders, and 
the solitary robber, armed to the teeth, and mounted on 
his Andalusian steed, hovers about them, like a pirate 
about a merchant convoy, without daring to assault. 

The Spanish muleteer has an inexhaustible stock of 
songs and ballads, with which to beguile his incessant 
wayfaring. These he chants forth with a loud voice, and 
long, drawling cadence, seated sideways on his mule, who 
seems to listen with infinite gravity, and to keep time, 
with his paces, to the tune. The couplets thus chanted 
are often old traditional romances about the Moors, or 
some legend of a saint, or some love-ditty ; or, what is 
still more frequent, some ballad about a bold smuggler, 
or hardy robber, for both are poetical heroes among the 
common people of Spain. 

The ancient kingdom of Granada is one of the most 
mountainous regions of Spain. Vast sierras, or chains of 
mountains, destitute of shrub or tree, and mottled with 
variegated marbles and granites, elevate their sunburnt 
summits against a deep-blue sky ; yet in their rugged 
bosoms lie ingulfed verdant and fertile valleys, where the 
desert and the garden strive for mastery, and the very 
rock is, as it were, compelled to yield the fig, the orange, 



THE JOURNEY. 5 

and the citron, and to blossom with the myrtle and the 
rose. 

In the wild passes of these mountains the sight of 
walled towns and villages, built like eagles' nests among 
the cliffs, and surrounded by Moorish battlements, or of 
ruined watch-towers perched on lofty peaks, carries the 
mind back to the chivalric days of Christian and Moslem 
warfare, and to the romantic struggle for the conquest of 
Granada. In traversing these lofty sierras the traveller is 
often obliged to alight, and lead his horse up and down 
the steep and jagged ascents and descents, resembling the 
broken steps of a staircase. Sometimes the road winds 
along dizzy precipices, without parapet to guard him from 
the gulfs below, and then will plunge down steep and dark 
and dangerous declivities. Sometimes it struggles through 
rugged ravines, worn by winter torrents, the obscure path 
of the smuggler ; while, ever and anon, the ominous cross, 
the monument of robbery and murder, erected on a mound 
of stones at some lonely part of the road, admonishes 
the traveller that he is among the haunts of banditti, 
perhaps at that very moment under the eye of some lurk- 
ing outlaw. Sometimes, in winding through the narrow 
valleys, he is startled by a hoarse bellowing, and beholds 
above him on some green fold of the mountain a herd of 
fierce Andalusian bulls, destined for the combat of the 
arena. I have felt, if I may so express it, an agreeable 
horror in thus contemplating, near at hand, these terrific 
animals, clothed with tremendous strength, and ranging 
their native pastures in untamed wildness, strangers almost 

Christian and Moslem warfare : see note i. 
ban-dit'-ti : robbers, a band of outlaws. 
combat of the arena : see note 2. 



6 THE ALHAMBRA. 

to the face of man : they know no one but the soHtary 
herdsman who attends upon them, and even he at times 
dares not venture to approach them. The low bellowing 
of these bulls, and their menacing aspect as they look 
down from their rocky height, give additional wildness to 
the savage scenery. 

As our proposed route to Granada lay through moun- 
tainous regions, where the roads are little better than 
mule-paths, and said to be frequently beset by robbers, 
we took due travelling precautions. Forwarding the most 
valuable part of our luggage a day or two in advance by 
the carriers, we retained merely clothing and necessaries 
for the journey and money for the expenses of the road ; 
with a little surplus of hard dollars by way of robber purse, 
to satisfy the gentlemen of the road should we be assailed. 
Unlucky is the too wary traveller who, having grudged this 
precaution, falls into their clutches empty-handed ; they 
are apt to give him a sound rib-roasting for cheating them 
out of their dues. 

A couple of stout steeds were provided for our own 
mounting, and a third for our scanty luggage and the con- 
veyance of a sturdy Biscayan lad, about twenty years of 
age, who was to be our guide, our groom, our valet, and at 
all times our guard. For the latter office he was provided 
with a formidable gun, with which he promised to defend 
us against solitary footpads. He made much vain-glorious 
boast about his weapon at the outset of the journey ; 
though, to the discredit of his generalship, it was suffered 
to hang unloaded behind his saddle. He was a faithful, 

gentlemen of the road : highwaymen. 

rib'-roasting : i hard beating. 

val'-et : a gentleman's personal servant. 



THE JOURNEY. J 

cheery, kind-hearted creature, as full of saws and proverbs 
as that miracle of squires, the renowned Sancho himself, 
whose name, by the by, we bestowed upon him, and, like 
a true Spaniard, though treated by us with companionable 
familiarity, he never for a moment, in his utmost hilarity, 
overstepped the bounds of respectful decorum. 

Such were our minor preparations for the journey, but 
above all we laid in an ample stock of good-humor, and a 
genuine disposition to be pleased ; determining to take 
things as we found them, rough or smooth, and mingle 
with all classes and conditions in a kind of vagabond com- 
panionship. It is the true way to travel in Spain. With 
such disposition and determination, what a country is it 
for a traveller, where the most miserable inn is as full of 
adventure as an enchanted castle, and every meal is in 
itself an achievement ! Let others repine at the lack of 
turnpike roads and sumptuous hotels, and all the elaborate 
comforts of a country cultivated and civilized into tame- 
ness and commonplace ; but give me the rude mountain 
scramble ; the roving, hap-hazard wayfaring ; the half wild, 
yet frank and hospitable manners, which impart such a 
true game-flavor to dear old romantic Spain ! 

Shortly after sunset on our first day's journey we 
arrived at Arahal, a little town among the hills. We 
found it in a bustle with a party of mountain soldiers, who 
were patrolling the country to ferret out robbers. The 
appearance of foreigners like ourselves was an unusual cir- 
cumstance in an interior country town ; and little Spanish 
towns of the kind are easily put in a state of gossip and 

saws : wise sayings. . 

San-cho : Sancho Panza, the esquire or servant of Don Quixote, a crazy 
country gentleman who fancies himself a knight, in a famous Spanish story. 
See also note 3. 



S THE ALHAMBRA. 

wonderment by such an occurrence. Mine host, with two 
or three old wiseacre comrades in brown cloaks, studied 
our passports in a corner of the inn, while a constable 
took notes by the dim light of a lamp. The passports 
were in foreign languages and perplexed them, but our 
Squire Sancho assisted them in their studies, and mag- 
nified our importance with the grandiloquence of a Span- 
iard. In the meantime the magnificent distribution of a 
few cigars had won the hearts of all around us ; in a little 
while the whole community seemed put in agitation to 
make us welcome. The mayor himself waited upon us, 
and a great rush-bottomed arm-chair was ostentatiously 
bolstered into our room by our landlady, for the accommo- 
dation of that important personage. The commander of 
the patrol took supper with us : a lively, talking, laughing 
Andaluz, who had made a campaign in South America, 
and recounted his exploits in love and war with much 
pomp of phrase, vehemence of gesticulation, and mysteri- 
ous rolling of the eye. He told us that he had a list of all 
the robbers' in the country, and meant to ferret out every 
mother's son of them ; he offered us at the same time 
some of his soldiers as an escort. "One is enough to 
protect you, sefiors ; the robbers know me, and know 
my men ; the sight of one is enough to spread terror 
through a whole sierra." We thanked him for his offer, 
but assured him, in his own strain, that with the protec- 
tion of our redoubtable squire, Sancho, we were not afraid 
of all the rascals of Andalusia. 

While we were supping with our braggart friend, we 

wise'-a-cre : a pretender to wisdom. 
gran-dil'-o-quence : high-sounding language. 
senors {sen-ttyores') : sirs, gentlemen. 



THE JOURNEY. g 

heard the notes of a guitar, and the cHck of castanets, 
and presently a chorus of voices singing a popular air. 
In fact, mine host had gathered together the amateur 
singers and musicians, and the rustic belles of the neigh- 
borhood, and, on going forth, the court-yard of the inn 
presented a scene of true Spanish festivity. We took our 
seats with mine host and hostess and the commander of 
the patrol, under an archway opening into the court ; 
the guitar passed from hand to hand, but a jovial shoe- 
maker was the Orpheus of the place. He was a pleasant- 
looking fellow, with huge black whiskers ; his sleeves were 
rolled up to his elbows. He touched the guitar with 
masterly skill, and afterwards danced a fandango with a 
buxom Andalusian damsel, to the great delight of the 
spectators. But none of the females present could com- 
pare with mine host's pretty daughter, Pepita, who had 
slipped away and made her toilette for the occasion, and 
had covered her head with roses ; and who distinguished 
herself in a dance with a handsome young dragoon. We 
ordered our host to let wine and refreshments circulate 
freely among the company, yet, though there was a motley 

cas-ta-net': an instrument of hard wood or ivory, shaped like a pair of 
chestnuts attached by a string. It is fastened to the thumb, held inside the 
hand, and beaten with the middle finger as an accompaniment to dances and to 
the guitar, — used particularly by the Moors and Spaniards. 

amateur' (am-a-iur') : one who is a lover of any pursuit, art, or science, 
but is not engaged in it professionally. 

Orpheus (^Or'-fus) : a famous ancient poet of Thrace, who was said by 
the Greeks to have enchanted wild beasts, and also trees and rocks, by the 
music of his lyre, a stringed instrument resembling the harp. 

fandango (^fan-dan' -go) : a favorite and lively dance of the Spaniards. 

bux'-om : gay, lively. 

dra-goon' : a soldier taught and armed to fight on horseback or on foot, 
as circumstances may require. 



lO THE A LH AM BR A. 

assembly of soldiers, muleteers, and villagers, no one ex- 
ceeded the bounds of sober enjoyment. The scene was 
a study for a painter : the picturesque group of dancers, 
the troopers in their half mihtary dresses, the peasantry 
wrapped in their brown cloaks ; nor must I omit to mention 
the old meagre constable, in short black cloak, who took 
no notice of anything going on, but sat in a corner dili- 
gently writing by the dim light of a huge copper lamp, 
that might have figured in the days of Don Quixote. 

The following morning was bright and balmy, as a May 
morning ought to be, according to the poets. Leaving 
Arahal at seven o'clock, with all the people of the inn at 
the door to cheer us off, we pursued our way through a 
fertile country, covered with grain and beautifully verdant ; 
but which in summer, when the harvest is over and the 
fields parched and brown, must be monotonous and lonely ; 
for, as in our ride of yesterday, there were neither houses 
nor people to be seen. The latter all congregate in villages 
and strongholds among the hills, as if these fertile plains 
were still subject to the ravages of the Moor. 

At noon we came to where there was a group of trees, 
beside a brook in a rich meadow. Here we alighted to 
make our mid-day meal. Knowing the scanty larders of 
Spanish inns, and the houseless tracts we might have to 
traverse, we had taken care to have the saddle-bags of our 
squire well stocked with cold provisions, and his leathern 
bottle, which might hold a gallon, filled to the neck with 
choice wine. 

Our repast being finished, we spread our cloaks on the 
greensward under the tree, and took a luxurious siesta, 

Den Quixote {ke-ko'-ta) : see note 3. 

siesta (se-es'-/ak) : a short nap taken about the middle of the day, or 
after dinner. 



THE JOURNEY. II 

in the Spanish fashion. The clouding up of the weather, 
however, warned us to depart, and a harsh wind sprang up 
from the southeast. Towards five o'clock we arrived at 
Osuna, a town of fifteen thousand inhabitants, situated on 
the side of a hill, with a church and a ruined castle. The 
inn was outside of the walls ; it had a cheerless look. The 
evening being cold, the inhabitants were crowded round 
a pan of coals in a chimney-corner ; and the hostess was 
a dry old woman, who looked like a mummy. Every one 
eyed us askance as we entered, as Spaniards are apt to 
regard strangers ; a cheery, respectful salutation on our 
part, touching our sombreros, set Spanish pride at ease ; 
and when we took our seats among them, lit our cigars, 
and passed the cigar-box round among them, our victory 
was complete. I have never known a Spaniard, whatever 
his rank or condition, who would suffer himself to be out- 
done in courtesy ; and to the common Spaniard the pres- 
ent of a cigar is irresistible. Care, however, must be taken 
never to offer him a present with an air of superiority and 
condescension ; he is too much of a gentleman to receive 
favors at the cost of his dignity. 

Leaving Osuna at an early hour the next morning, we 
entered the sierra or range of mountains. The road wound 
through picturesque scenery, but lonely ; and a cross here 
and there by the roadside, the sign of a murder, showed 
that we were now coming among the "robber haunts." 
This wild and intricate country, with its silent plains and 
valleys intersected by mountains, has ever been famous 
for banditti. About nightfall we arrived at the gates of 
Antiquera, that old city of warlike reputation, lying in the 
lap of the great sierra which runs through Andalusia. 

sombrero isom-b?'er'-o) : a broad-brimmed hat. 



12 THE ALHAMBRA. 

Everything in this venerable city has a decidedly Spanish 
stamp. It lies too much out of the frequented track of 
foreign travel to have its old usages trampled out. Here 
I observed old men still wearing the ancient hunting-cap, 
once common throughout Spain ; while the young men 
wore the little round-crowned hat, with brim turned up all 
round, like a cup turned down in its saucer ; while the 
brim was set off with little black tufts like cockades. The 
women, too, were all in mantillas and basquinas. As 
Antiquera, though a considerable city, is, as I observed, 
somewhat out of the track of travel, I had anticipated bad 
quarters and poor fare at the inn. I was agreeably disap- 
pointed, therefore, by a supper-table amply supplied, and 
what was still more acceptable, good clean rooms and com- 
fortable beds. 

Early in the morning I strolled to the ruins of the old 
Moorish castle, which itself had been reared on the ruins 
of a Roman fortress. Here, taking my seat on the remains 
of a crumbling tower, I enjoyed a grand and varied land- 
scape, beautiful in itself, and full of storied and romantic 
associations ; for I was now in the very heart of the coun- 
try famous for the chivalrous contests between Moor and 
Christian. 

On returning to the inn I found our man Sancho in high 
gossip with the landlord and two or three of his hangers- 
on. He had just been telling some marvellous story about 
Seville, which mine host seemed piqued to match with one 
equally marvellous about Antiquera. There was once a 

cock-ade' : a knot of ribbon worn on the hat, generally as a military 
badge. 

mantilla {inan-tceP -lyaJi) : head-covering for women, made of silk, lace, 
or other stuff. 

basquina {Ims-kM-yaJi) : upper petticoat worn by Spanish women. 



THE JOURNEY. 1 3 

fountain, he said, in one of the public squares called TJie 
fountain of the bull, because the water gushed from the 
mouth of a bull's head, carved of stone. Underneath the 
head was inscribed : In front of the bull there is treas?ire. 
Many digged in front of the fountain, but lost their labor 
and found no money. At last one knowing fellow con- 
strued the motto a different way. It is in the forehead 
of the bull that the treasure is to be found, said he to 
himself, and I am the man to find it. Accordingly he 
came, late at night, with a mallet, and knocked the head 
to pieces ; and what dp you think he found .? 

"Plenty of gold and diamonds ! " cried Sancho, eagerly. 

"He found nothing," rejoined mine host, dryly, "and 
he ruined the fountain." 

Here a great laugh was set up by the landlord's hangers- 
on ; who considered Sancho completely taken in by what I 
presume was one of mine host's standing jokes. 

Leaving Antiquera at eight o'clock, we had a delightful 
ride along the little river, and by gardens and orchards 
fragrant with the odors of spring and vocal with the night- 
ingale. 

At noon we halted in sight of Archidona, in a pleasant 
little meadow among hills covered with olive-trees, and 
Sancho was told to produce his saddle-bags. He had been 
unusually silent this morning ever since the laugh raised 
at his expense, but now his countenance brightened, and 
he produced his saddle-bags with an air of triumph. They 
contained the contributions of four days' journeying, but 
had been signally enriched by the foraging of the previ- 
ous evening in the plenteous inn at Antiquera ; and this 
seemed to furnish him with a set-off to Che banter of mine 
host. 



14 THE ALHAMBRA. 

In front of the bull there is treasure 

would he exclaim, with a chuckling laugh, as he drew forth 
the heterogeneous contents one by one, in a series which 
seemed to have no end. First came forth a shoulder of 
roasted kid, very little the worse for wear ; then an entire 
partridge ; then a great morsel of salted codfish wrapped in 
paper; then the residue of a ham ; then the half of a pul- 
let, together with several rolls of bread, and a rabble rout of 
oranges, figs, raisins, and walnuts. His leathern bottle also 
had been recruited with some excellent wine of Malaga. 
At every fresh apparition from his larder, he would enjoy 
our ludicrous surprise, throwing himself back on the grass, 
shouting with laughter, and exclaiming, " Front of the bull ! 
— front of the bull ! Ah, sefiors, they thought Sancho a 
simpleton at Antiquera ; but Sancho knew where to find 
the treasure." 

While we were diverting ourselves with his simple droll- 
ery, a solitary beggar approached, who had almost the look 
of a pilgrim. He had a venerable gray beard, and was 
evidently very old, supporting himself on a staff, yet age 
had not bowed him down ; he was tall and erect, and had 
the wreck of a fine form. He wore a round Andalusian 
hat, a sheep-skin jacket, and leathern breeches, gaiters, and 
sandals. His dress, though old and patched, was decent, 
his demeanor manly, and he addressed us with the grave 
courtesy that is to be remarked in the lowest Spaniard. 
We were in a favorable mood for such a visitor ; and in a 
freak of capricious charity gave him some silver, a loaf of 
fine wheaten bread, and a goblet of our choice wine of 
Malaga. He received them thankfully, but without any 

het-e-ro-ge'-ne-ous : dissimilar, differing in kind. 



THE JOURNEY. 1 5 

grovelling tribute of gratitude. Tasting the wine, he held 
it up to the light, with a slight beam of surprise in his eye; 
then quaffing it off at a draught, "It is many years," said 
he, "since I have tasted such wine. It is a cordial to an 
old man's heart." Then, looking at the beautiful wheaten 
loaf, " blessed be such bread ! " So saying, he put it in 
his wallet. We urged him to eat it on the spot. " No, 
senors," replied he, "the wine I had either to drink or 
leave ; but the bread I may take home to share with my 
family." 

Our man Sancho sought our eye, and reading permission 
there, gave the old man some of the ample fragments of 
our repast, on condition, however, that he should sit down 
and make a meal. 

He accordingly took his seat at some little distance 
from us, and began to eat slowly, and with a sobriety and 
decorum that would have become a hidalgo. There was 
altogether a measured manner and a quiet self-possession 
about the old man, that made me think that he had seen 
better days : his language, too, though simple, had occa- 
sionally something picturesque and almost poetical in the 
phraseology. I set him down for some broken-down noble- 
man. I was mistaken ; it was nothing but the innate 
courtesy of a Spaniard, and the poetical turn of thought 
and language often to be found in the lowest classes 
of this clear-witted people. For fifty years, he told us, 
he had been a shepherd, but now he was out of employ 
and destitute. "When I was a young man," said he, 
" nothing could harm or trouble me ; I was always well, 
always gay ; but now I am seventy-nine years of age, and 
a beggar, and my heart begins to fail me." 

hidalgo (^e-dal'-go) : a Spanish nobleman of the lower class. 



1 6 THE ALHAMBRA. 

Still he was not a regular mendicant : it was not until 
recently that want had driven him to this degradation ; 
and he gave a touching picture of the struggle between 
hunger and pride, when abject destitution first came upon 
him. He was returning from Malaga without money ; he 
had not tasted food for some time, and was crossing one 
of the great plains of Spain, where there were but few 
habitations. When almost dead with hunger, he applied 
at the door of a country inn. " Excuse us, brother, for 
God's sake ! " was the reply — the usual mode in Spain of 
refusing a beggar. " I turned away," said he, "with shame 
greater than my hunger, for my heart was yet too proud. 
I came to a river with high banks, and deep, rapid current, 
and felt tempted to throw myself in : ' What should such 
an old, worthless, wretched man as I live for .'' ' But when 
I was on the brink of the current, I turned away. I trav- 
elled on until I saw a country-seat at a little distance from 
the road, and entered the outer gate of the court-yard. 
The door was shut, but there were two young ladies at a 
window. I approached and begged ; — ' Excuse us, brother, 
for God's sake!' — and the window was closed. I crept 
out of the court-yard, but hunger overcame me, and my 
heart gave way : I thought my hour at hand, so I laid my- 
self down at the gate, and covered my head to die. In a 
little while afterwards the master of the house came home : 
seeing me lying at his gate, he uncovered my head, had 
pity on my gray hairs, took me into his house, and gave 
me food." 

The old man was on his way to his native place, Archi- 
dona, which was in full view on the steep and rugged 
mountain. He pointed to the ruins of its castle. As his 
heart warmed with wine he went on to tell us a story of 



THE JOURNEY. \y 

the buried treasure left under the castle by the Moorish 
king. His own house was next to the foundation of the 
castle. The curate and notary dreamed three times of the 
treasure, and went to work at the place pointed out in 
their dreams. His own son-in-law heard the sound of their 
pickaxes and spades at night. What they found nobody 
knows ; they became suddenly rich, but kept their own 
secret. Thus the old man had once been next door to for- 
tune, but was doomed never to get under the same roof. 

I have remarked that the. stories of treasure buried by 
the Moors, so popular throughout Spain, are most current 
among the poorest people. Kind nature consoles with 
shadows for the lack of substantials. The thirsty man 
dreams of fountains and running streams ; the hungry 
man of banquets ; and the poor man of heaps of hidden 
gold : nothing certainly is more opulent than the imagina- 
tion of a beggar. 

Our afternoon's ride took us through a steep and rugged 
defile of the mountains, called the Pass of the King ; being 
one of the great passes into the territories of Granada, 
and the one by which King Ferdinand conducted his army. 
Towards sunset the road, winding round a hill, brought us 
in sight of the famous little frontier city of Loxa[, which 
repulsed Ferdinand from its walls. It was the stronghold 
of that fiery veteran, old Ali Atar, father-in-law of Boabdil ; 
and here it was that the latter collected his troops, and 
sallied forth on that disastrous foray which ended in the 
death of the old governor of the castle, and his own cap- 

cu'-rate : parish priest. 

no'-ta-ry : an officer authorized to attest writings of any kind. 

King Ferdinand : see note 5. 

Boabdil: the last of the Moorish kings of Spain. See also note i. 



1 8 THE ALHAMBRA. 

tivity. From its commanding position at the gate, as it 
were, of this mountain-pass, Loxa lias not unaptly been 
termed the key of Granada. It is wildly picturesque ; 
built along the face of a rugged mountain. The ruins of a 
Moorish citadel crown a rocky mound which rises out of 
the centre of the town. The river Xenil washes its base, 
winding among rocks and groves, and gardens, and mead- 
ows, and crossed by a Moorish bridge. Above the city all 
is savage and sterile, below is the richest vegetation and 
the freshest verdure. A similar contrast is presented by 
the river : above the bridge it is placid and grassy, reflect- 
ing groves and gardens ; below it is rapid, noisy, and 
tumultuous. The Sierra Nevada, the royal mountains of 
Granada, crowned with perpetual snow, form the distant 
boundary to this varied landscape, one of the most char- 
acteristic of romantic Spain. 

Alighting at the entrance to the city, we gave our 
horses to Sancho to lead them to the inn, while we strolled 
about to enjoy the singular beauty of the environs. As 
we crossed the bridge to a fine public walk, the bells tolled 
the hour of orison. At the sound the wayfarers, whether 
on business or pleasure, paused, took off their hats, crossed 
themselves, and repeated their evening prayer : a pious 
custom still rigidly observed in retired parts of Spain. 
Altogether it was a solemn and beautiful evening scene, 
and we wandered on as the evening gradually closed, and 
the new moon began to glitter between the high elms of 
the public walk. We were roused from this quiet state of 
enjoyment by the voice of our trusty squire hailing us 
from a distance. 

The inn to which he conducted us was called the Crown, 

or'-i-son : prayer. 



THE JOURNEY. 1 9 

and we found it quite in keeping with the character of the 
place, the inhabitants of which seem still to retain the bold, 
fiery spirit of the olden time. The hostess was a young 
and handsome Andalusian widow, whose trim petticoat of 
black silk, fringed with bugles, set off the play of a grace- 
ful form and round pliant limbs. Her step was firm and 
elastic ; her dark eye was full of fire ; and the coquetry of 
her air, and varied ornaments of her person, showed that 
she was accustomed to be admired. 

She was well matched by her brother, nearly about her 
own age. He was tall, vigorous, and well-formed, with a 
clear olive complexion, a dark beaming eye, and curling 
chestnut whiskers that met under his chin. He was 
gallantly dressed in a short green velvet jacket, fitted 
to his shape, profusely decorated with silver buttons, with 
a white handkerchief in each pocket. He had breeches of 
the same, with rows of buttons from the hips to the knees ; 
a pink silk handkerchief round his neck, gathered through 
a ring, on the bosom of a neatly plaited shirt ; a sash round 
the waist to match ; high gaiters of the finest russet-leather, 
elegantly worked, and open at the calf to show his stock- 
ing ; and russet shoes, setting off a well-shaped foot. 

As he was standing at the door, a horseman rode up 
and entered into a low and earnest conversation with him. 
He was dressed in a similar style, and almost with equal 
finery ; a man about thirty, square-built, with strong 
Roman features, handsome, though slightly pitted with 
small-pox ; with a free, bold, and somewhat daring air. 
His powerful black horse was decorated with tassels and 
fanciful trappings, and a couple of broad-mouthed blunder- 
busses hung behind the saddle. He had the air of one of 
those smugglers I have seen in the mountains of Ronda, 



20 THE ALHAMBRA. 

and evidently had a good understanding witii the brother 
of mine hostess ; nay, if I mistake not, he was a favored 
admirer of the widow. In fact, tlie whole inn and its 
inmates had something of a suspicious aspect, and a 
blunderbuss stood in a corner beside the guitar. The 
horseman I have mentioned passed his evening in the 
inn, and sang several bold mountain romances with 
great spirit. As we were at supper, two poor Asturians 
put in, in distress, begging food and a night's lodging. 
They had been waylaid by robbers as they came from a 
fair among the mountains, robbed of a horse which carried 
all their stock in trade, stripped of their money, and most 
of their apparel, beaten for having offered resistance, and 
left almost naked on the road. My companion, with a 
prompt generosity natural to him, ordered them a supper 
and a bed, and gave them a sum of money to help them 
forward towards their home. 

As the evening advanced, the drmnatis personcF thick- 
ened. A large man, about sixty years of age, of powerful 
frame, came strolling in, to gossip with mine hostess. He 
was dressed in the ordinary Andalusian costume, but had 
a huge sabre tucked under his arm ; wore large moustaches, 
and had something of a lofty swaggering air. Every one 
seemed to regard him with great deference. 

Our man Sancho whispered to us that he was Don 
Ventura Rodriguez, the hero and champion of Loxa, 
famous for his prowess and the strength of his arm. In 
the time of the French invasion he surprised six troopers 
who were asleep ; he first secured their horses, then 
attacked them with his sabre, killed some, and took the 

dram'-a-tis per-so'-nae : the Latin for persons represented in the play. 
sa'-bre : cavalry sword. 



THE JOURNEY. 21 

rest prisoners. For this exploit the king allows him the 
fifth of a Spanish dollar per day, and has dignified him 
with the title of Don. 

I sat until a late hour listening to the varied themes 
of this motley group, who mingled together with the 
unreserve of a Spanish inn. We had smuggler songs,, 
stories of robbers, guerilla exploits, and Moorish legends. 
The last were from our handsome landlady, who gave 
a poetical account of the Infiernos, or infernal regions of 
Loxa, — dark caverns, in which subterranean streams and 
waterfalls niake a mysterious sound. The common people 
say that there are money-coiners shut up there from the 
time of the Moors ; and that the Moorish kings kept their 
treasures in those caverns. 

I retired to bed with my imagination excited by all that 
I had seen and heard in this old warrior city, but slept 
soundly until morning. 

On leaving Loxa we were joined by a horseman, well 
mounted and well armed, and followed on foot by a mus- 
keteer. He saluted us courteously, and soon let us into 
his quality. He was the chief of the customs, or rather, 
I should suppose, chief of an armed company whose busi- 
ness it is to patrol the roads and look out for smugglers. 
In the course of our morning's ride I drew from him 
some particulars concerning the smugglers, who have 
risen to be a kind of mongrel chivalry in Spain. They 
come into Andalusia, he said, from various parts, but 
especially from La Mancha ; sometimes to receive goods, 
to be smuggled on an appointed night across the line at 
the strand of Gibraltar ; sometimes to meet a vessel, which 

Don : Mr., Sir, a Spanish title. 

guerilla {ge-ril'-la) exploits : petty or irregular warfare. 



22 THE ALHAMBRA. 

is to hover on a given night off a certain part of the coast. 
They keep together and travel in the night. In the day- 
time they lie quiet in gullies of the mountains, or lonely 
farm-houses ; v^here they are generally well received, as 
they make the family liberal presents of their smuggled 
wares. Indeed, much of the finery and trinkets worn 
by the wives and daughters of the mountain hamlets and 
farm-houses are presents from the gay and open-handed 
smugglers. 

Arrived at the part of the coast where a vessel is to 
meet them, they look out at night from some rocky point 
or headland. If they descry a sail near the shore they 
make a concerted signal ; sometimes it consists in suddenly 
displaying a lantern three times from beneath the folds 
of the cloak. If the signal is answered, they descend 
to the shore and prepare for quick work. The vessel runs 
close in ; all her boats are busy landing the smuggled 
goods, made up into snug packages for transportation on 
horseback. These are hastily thrown on the beach, as 
hastily gathered up and packed on the horses, and then 
their riders clatter off to the mountains. They travel 
by the roughest, wildest, and most solitary roads, where 
it is almost fruitless to pursue them. The custom-house 
guards do not attempt it : they take a different course. 
When they hear of one of these bands returning full 
freighted through the mountains, they go out in force, 
sometimes twelve infantry and eight horsemen, and take 
their station where the mountain defile opens into the 
plain. The infantry, who lie in ambush some distance 
within the defile, suffer the band to pass, then rise and 
fire upon them. The smugglers dash forward, but are 
met in front by the horsemen. A wild skirmish ensues. 



THE JOURNEY. 2$ 

The smugglers, if hard pressed, become desperate. Some 
dismount, use their horses as breastworks, and fire over 
their backs ; others cut the cords, let the packs fall off to 
delay the enemy, and endeavor to escape with their steeds. 
Some get off in this way with the loss of their packages ; 
some are taken, horses, packages, and all ; others abandon 
everything, and make their escape by scrambling up the 
mountains. "And then," cried Sancho, who had been 
listening with a greedy ear, " and then they become legiti- 
mate robbers." 

I could not help laughing at Sancho's idea of a legiti- 
mate calling of the kind ; but the chief of customs told 
me it was really the case that the smugglers, when thus 
reduced to extremity, thought they had a kind of right 
to take the road, and lay travellers under contribution, 
until they had collected funds enough to mount and equip 
themselves in their former style. 

Towards noon our wayfaring companion took leave of 
us and turned up a steep defile, and shortly afterwards 
we emerged from the mountains, and entered upon the 
far-famed Vega of Granada. 

Our last mid-day's repast was taken under a grove of 
olive-trees on the border of a rivulet. The day was with- 
out a cloud. The heat of the sun was tempered by cool 
breezes from the mountains. Before us extended the 
glorious Vega. In the distance was romantic Granada 
surmounted by the ruddy towers of the Alhambra, while 
far above it the snowy summits of the Sierra Nevada 
shone like silver. 

Ve'-ga : the great plain of Granada, over a hundred miles in circumference 
and surrounded by lofty mountains. This was so carefully cultivated that the 
whole territory appeared like a vast garden. Here the Moors made their 
last stand against their conquerors. 



24 THE ALHAMBRA. 

Our repast finished, we spread our cloaks and took our 
last nap in the open air, lulled by the humming of bees 
among the flowers and the notes of doves among the olive- 
trees. When the sultry hours were passed we resumed our 
journey, and arrived about sunset at the gates of Granada. 



PALACE OF THE ALHAMBRA. 



25 



PALACE OF THE ALHAMBRA. 



To the traveller imbued with a feeling for the histor- 
ical and poetical, so inseparably intertwined in the annals 
of romantic Spain, the Alhambra is as much an object of 
devotion as is the Caaba to all true Moslems. How many- 
legends and traditions, true and fabulous, — how many 
songs and ballads, Arabian and Spanish, of love and war 
and chivalry, are associated with this Oriental pile ! It wa.s 
the royal abode of the Moorish kings, where, surrounded 
with the splendors and refinements of Asiatic luxury, they 
held dominion over what they vaunted as a terrestrial par- 
adise, and made their last stand for empire in Spain. The 
royal palace forms but part of a fortress, the walls of which, 
studded with towers, stretch irregularly round the whole 
crest of a hill, a spur of the Sierra Nevada or Snowy 
Mountains, and overlook the city ; externally it is a rude 
congregation of towers and battlements, with no regularity 
of plan or grace of architecture, and giving little promise 
of the grace and beauty which prevail within. 

In the time of the Moors the fortress was capable of 
containing within its outward precincts an army of forty 

Ca'-a-ba : the name of an oblong stone building, standing within the great 
Mosque of Mecca, containing a famous black stone said to have fallen from 
Heaven, and towards which all Moslems turn in their prayers. See note 4. 

Mos'-lems : followers of the prophet MaTiomet or Mohammed. See 
note 4. 



26 THE ALHAMBRA. 

thousand men, and served occasionally as a stronghold of 
the sovereigns against their rebellious subjects. After the 
kingdom had passed into the hands of the Christians, the 
Alhambra continued to be a royal demesne, and was occa- 
sionally inhabited by the Castilian monarchs. The em- 
peror Charles V. commenced a sumptuous palace within 
its walls, but was deterred from completing it by repeated 
shocks of earthquakes. The last royal residents were 
Philip V. and his beautiful queen, Elizabeth of Parma, 
early in the eighteenth century. The sojourn of the sov- 
ereigns was transient, and after their departure the palace 
once more became desolate. Still the place was main- 
tained with some military state. The governor held it 
immediately from the crown, and was independent of the 
captain-general of Granada. A considerable garrison was 
kept up ; the governor had his apartments in the front of 
the old Moorish palace, and never descended into Granada 
without some military parade. The fortress, in fact, was 
a little town of itself, having several streets of houses 
within its walls, together with a convent and a parochial 
church. 

The desertion of the court, however, was a fatal blow 
to the Alhambra. Its beautiful halls became desolate, 
and some of them fell to ruin ; the gardens were destroyed, 
and the fountains ceased to play. By degrees the dwell- 
ings became filled with a loose and lawless population ; 
smugglers, who availed themselves of its independent 
jurisdiction to carry on a wide and daring course of smug- 

roy'-al demesne {de-vien'^ : property under the immediate control of the 
crown. 

Charles V. : see note 5. Philip V. : see note 5. 

pa-ro'-chi-al : belonging to a parish. 



PALACE OF THE ALHAMBRA. 



27 



gling, and thieves and rogues of all sorts, who made this 
their place of refuge whence they might depredate upon 
Granada and its vicinity. The strong arm of government 
at length interfered ; the whole community was thoroughly 
sifted ; none were suffered to remain but such as were of 
honest character, and had legitimate right to a residence ; 
the greater part of the houses were demolished and a mere 
hamlet left, with the parochial church and the convent. 
During the troubles in Spain, when Granada was in the 
hands of the French, the Alhambra was garrisoned by 
their troops, and the palace was occasionally inhabited by 
the French commander. With that enlightened taste 
which has ever distinguished the French nation in their 
conquests, this monument of Moorish elegance and gran- 
deur was rescued from the absolute ruin and desolation that 
were overwhelming it. The roofs were repaired, and the 
saloons and galleries protected from the weather, the gar- 
dens cultivated, the watercourses restored, the fountains 
once more made to throw up their sparkling showers ; 
and Spain may thank her invaders for having preserved 
to her the most beautiful and interesting of her historical 
monuments. 

On the departure of the French they blew up several 
towers of the outer wall, and left the fortifications scarcely 
tenable. Since that time the military importance of the 
post is at an end. The garrison is a handful of invalid 
soldiers, whose principal duty is to guard some of the outer 
towers, which serve occasionally as a prison of state ; and 
the governor, abandoning the lofty hill of the Alhambra, 
resides in the centre of Granada, for the more convenient 
dispatch of his official duties. 

Granada in the hands of the French : see note 5. 



28 THE ALHAMBRA. 

Our first object of course, on the morning after our 
arrival, was a visit to this time-honored edifice. Leaving 
our inn, and traversing the renowned square of the Vivar- 
rambla, once the scene of Moorish jousts and tournaments, 
now a crowded market-place, we proceeded along the main 
street of what, in the time of the Moors, was the Great 
Bazaar, and where small shops and narrow alleys still 
retain the Oriental character. Crossing an open place in 
front of the palace of the captain-general, we ascended a 
confined and winding street, the name of which reminded 
us of the chivalric days of Granada. It is called the street 
of the Gomeres, from a Moorish family famous in chron- 
icle and song. This street led up to a massive gateway of 
Grecian architecture, built by Charles V., forming the 
entrance to the domain of the Alhambra. 

At the gate were two or three ragged superannuated 
soldiers, dozing on a stone bench, while a tall, meagre 
varlet, whose rusty-brown cloak was evidently intended to 
conceal the ragged state of his nether garments, was loung- 
ing in the sunshine and gossiping with an ancient sen- 
tinel on duty. He joined us as we entered the gate, and 
offered his services to show us the fortress. 

I have a traveller's dislike to officious ci „( ^eroni^ and did 
not altogether like the garb of the applicant. 

" You are well acquainted with the place, I presume .'' " 

" Nobody better ; in fact, sir, I am a son of the Alham- 
bra ! " 

jousts and tour'-na-ments : sports or exercises, common in the Middle 
Ages, in which a number of combatants, or knights, engaged for the purpose 
of exhibiting their courage and skill at arms. 

var'-let : rascal or rogue. 

cicerone (^sis-e-ro^-ne) : a guide who shows strangers places of interest, 
and explains them in a loquacious manner. 



PALACE OF THE ALHAAIBRA. 29 

The common Spaniards have certainly a most poetical 
way of expressing themselves. " A son of the Alham- 
bra ! " the appellation caught me at once ; the very tattered 
garb of my new acquaintance assumed a dignity in my 
eyes. It was emblemai^ic of the fortunes of the place, and 
befitted the progeny of a ruin. 

I put some further questions to him and found that his 
title was legitimate. His family had lived in the fortress 
from generation to generation ever since the time of the 
Conquest. His name was Mateo Ximenes. The first 
title of this ragged worthy, however, had completely cap- 
tivated me ; so I gladly accepted the services of the " son 
of the Alhambra." 

We now found ourselves in a deep narrow ravine, filled 
with beautiful groves, with a steep avenue, and various 
footpaths winding through it, bordered with stone seats 
and ornamented with fountains. To our left we beheld 
the towers of the Alhambra above us ; to our right, on, the 
opposite side of the ravine, we were equally dominated by 
rival towers on a rocky eminence. These, we were told, 
were the Vermilion Towers, so called from their ruddy 
hue. No one knows their origin. They are of a date 
much anterior to the Alhambra ; some suppose them to 
have been built by the Romans ; others, by some wander- 
ing colony of Phoenicians. Ascending the steep and 
shady avenue, we arrived at the foot of a huge square 
Moorish tower, forming a kind of barbican, through which 

Phce-ni'-cians : natives of Phcenicia, a country of Asia, on the coast of 
Syria. At a very early time they excelled in the fine arts. They were regarded 
by the Greeks as the inventors of the alphabet, and much knowledge of arts 
and science is ascribed to them. Their voyages and colonies extended to the 
coasts of Africa and Spain, and even to Great Britain. 

bar'-bi-can : watch-tower at the entrance of a castle or on the walls of a 
town. 



30 THE ALHAMBRA. 

passed the main entrance to the fortress. This portal is 
called the Gate of Justice, from the tribunal held within 
its porch during the Moslem domination for the immediate 
trial of petty causes : a custom common to the Oriental 
nations, and occasionally alluded to in the Sacred Scrip- 
tures. "Judges and officers shalt thou make thee in all 
tJiy gates, and they shall judge the people with just 
judgment." 
/^ The great vestibule, or porch of the gate, is formed by 
an immense Arabian arch, of the horseshoe form, which 
springs to half the height of the tower. On the keystone 
of this arch is engraven a gigantic hand. Within the ves- 
tibule, on the keystone of the portal, is sculptured, in like 
manner, a gigantic key. Those who pretend to some 
knowledge of the Mohammedan symbols, affirm that the 
hand is the emblem of doctrine ; the five fingers designat- 
ing the five principal commandments of the creed of Islam, 
fasting, pilgrimage, alms-giving, ablution, and war against 
infidels. The key, they say, is the emblem of the faith or 
of power ; the key of David, transmitted to the prophet. 
" And the key of the house of David will I lay upon his 
shoulder ; so he shall open and none shall shut, and he 
shall shut and none shall open." (Isa. xxii. 22.) The key, 
we are told, was emblazoned on the standard of the Mos- 
lems in opposition to the Christian emblem of the cross, 
when they subdued Spain or Andalusia. It betokened the 
conquering power invested in the prophet. " He that 
hath the key of David, he that openeth and no man shut- 
teth ; and shutteth and no man openeth." (Rev. iii. 7.) 

A different explanation of these emblems, however, was 
given by the legitimate son of the Alhambra, and one 

Is'-lam : see note 4. 



PALACE OF THE ALHAMBRA. 



31 



more in unison with the notions of the common people, 
who attach something of mystery and magic to everything 
Moorish, and have all kinds of superstitions connected 
with this old Moslem fortress. According to Mateo, it 
was a tradition handed down from the oldest inhabitants, 
and which he had from his father and grandfather, that 
the hand and key were magical devices on which the fate 
of the Alhambra depended. The Moorish king who built 
it was a great magician, or, as some believed, had sold 
himself to the devil, and had laid the whole fortress under 
a magic spell. By this means it had remained standing 
for several years, in defiance of storms and earthquakes, 
while almost all other buildings of the Moors had fallen to 
ruin and disappeared. This spell, the tradition went on 
to say, would last until the hand on the outer arch should 
reach down and grasp the key, when the whole pile would 
tumble to pieces, and all the treasures buried beneath it 
by the Moors would be revealed. 

After passing through the barbican, we ascended a 
narrow lane, winding between walls, and came on an open 
esplanade within the fortress, called the Place of the 
Cisterns, from great reservoirs which undermine it, cut 
in the living rock by the Moors to receive the water 
brought by conduits from the Darro, for the supply of the 
fortress. Here, also, is a well of immense depth, furnish- 
ing the purest and coldest of water, — another monument 
of the delicate taste of the Moors, who were indefatigable 
in their exertions to obtain that element in its crystal 
purity. 

In front of this esplanade is the splendid pile com- 

es-pla-nade' : a level ground within a fortiiied place used for e.xercise, 
etc. 



32 



THE ALHAMBRA. 



menced by Charles V., and intended, it is said, to eclipse 
the residence of the Moorish kings. Much of the Oriental 
edifice intended for the winter season was demolished 
to make way for this massive pile. The grand entrance 
was blocked up ; so that the present entrance to the 
Moorish palace is through a simple and almost humble 
portal in a corner. With all the massive grandeur and 
architectural merit of the palace of Charles V., we re- 
garded it as an arrogant intruder, and passing by it with 
a feeling almost of scorn, rang at the Moslem portal. 

While waiting for admittance, our self-imposed cice- 
rone, Mateo Ximenes, informed us that the royal palace 
was intrusted to the care of a worthy old maiden dame 
who, according to Spanish custom, went by the neighborly 
appellation, of Tia Antonia (Aunt Antonia), who main- 
tained the Moorish halls and gardens in order and showed 
them to strangers. While we were talking, the door was 
opened by a plump little black-eyed Andalusian damsel, 
whom Mateo addressed as Dolores, but who from her 
bright looks and cheerful disposition evidently merited 
a merrier name. Mateo informed me in a whisper that 
she was the niece of Tia Antonia, and I found she was the 
good fairy who was to conduct us through the enchanted 
palace. Under her guidance we crossed the threshold, 
and were at once transported, as if by magic wand, info 
other times and an Oriental realm, and were treading the 
scenes of Arabian story. Nothing could be in greater 
contrast than the unpromising exterior of the pile with 
the scene now before us. We found ourselves in a vast 
court, paved with white marble. Along the mouldings 
of the cornices and on various parts of the walls were 

Dolores (^doe-lof'-es) : " The Sorrowful." 



PALACE OF THE ALHAMBRA. 



33 



escutcheons and ciphers, and Cufic and Arabic characters, 
repeating the pious mottoes of the Moslem monarchs, the 
builders of the Alhambra, or extolling their grandeur and 
munificence. Along the centre of the court extended an 
immense basin or tank receiving its water from two marble 
vases. Great numbers of gold-fish were to be seen gleam- 
ing through the waters of the basin, and it was bordered 
by hedges of roses. 

Passing from the court of the Alberca under a Moorish 
archway, we entered the renowned Court of Lions. No 
part of the edifice gives a more complete idea of its origi- 
nal beauty than this, for none has suffered so little from 
("he ravages of time. In the centre stands the fountain 
famous in song and story. The alabaster basins still shed 
their diamond drops ; the twelve lions which support them, 
and give the court its name, still cast forth crystal streams 
as in the days of Boabdil. Round the four sides of the 
court are light Arabian arcades of open filigree work, 
supported by slender pillars of white marble, which it is 
supposed were originally gilded. The architecture, like that 
in most parts of the interior of the palace, is characterized 
by elegance rather than grandeur, bespeaking a delicate and 
graceful taste, and a disposition to indolent enjoyment. 
When one looks upon the apparently fragile fretwork of 

escutcheon (^es-ktich'-uii) : a shield adorned with coat of arms. See 
note 6. 

ci'-pher : a secret character or mark, invented for a special purpose. 

Cu'-fic : a species of characters anciently used in the sacred books of the 
Mohammedans. 

al'-a-bas-ter : a white stone used for ornamental purposes. 

ar-cade' : a series of arches supported on pillars. 

fil'-i-gree work : delicately wrought ornamental work. 

fret'-work : a sort of ornamental raised, work formed of small interlaced 
bands or lillets. 



34 THE ALHAMBRA. 

the walls, it is difficult to believe that so much has sur- 
vived the wear and tear of centuries, the shock of earth- 
quakes, the violence of war, and the quiet, though no less 
baneful, pilferings of the tasteful traveller : it is almost 
sufficient to excuse the popular tradition, that the whole 
is protected by a magic charm. 

On one side of the court a rich portal opens into the 
Hall of the Abencerrages : so called from the gallant cav- 
aliers of that illustrious line who were here perfidiously 
massacred. There are some who doubt the whole story, 
but our humble cicerone Mateo pointed out the very 
wicket of the portal through which they were introduced 
one by one into the Court of Lions, and the white marble 
fountain in the centre of the hall beside which they were 
beheaded. He showed us also certain broad ruddy stains 
on the pavement, traces of their blood, which, according 
to popular belief, can never be effaced. 

Finding we listened to him apparently with easy faith, 
he added, that there was often heard at night„ in the Court 
of Lions, a low confused sound, resembling the murmur- 
ing of a multitude, and now and then a faint tinkling, like 
the distant clank of chains. These sounds were made by 
the spirits of the murdered Abencerrages ; who nightly 
haunt the scene of their suffering and invoke the ven- 
geance of Heaven on their destroyer. 

The sounds in question had no doubt been produced, as 
I had afterwards an opportunity of ascertaining, by the 
bubbling currents and tinkling falls of water conducted 
under the pavement through pipes and channels to supply 
the fountains ; but I was too considerate to intimate such 
an idea to the humble chronicler of the Alhambra. 

cav-a-lier: knight, horseman. wick'-et : a small door made in a gate. 



PALACE OF THE ALIIAMBKA. 35 

Encouraged by my easy credulity, Mateo gave me the 
following as an undoubted fact, which he had from his 
grandfather : — 

There was once an invalid soldier, who had charge of 
the Alhambra to show it to strangers ; as he was one 
evening, about twilight, passing through the Court of 
Lions, he heard footsteps on the Hall of the Abencer- 
rages ; supposing some strangers to be lingering there, he 
advanced to attend to them, when to his astonishment 
he beheld four Moors richly dressed, with gilded cuirasses 
and cimeters, and poniards glittering with precious stones. 
They were walking to and fro, with solemn pace ; but 
paused and beckoned to him. The old soldier, however, 
took to flight, and could never afterwards be prevailed 
upon to enter the Alhambra. Thus it is that men some- 
times turn their backs upon fortune ; for it is the firm 
opinion of Mateo, that the Moors intended to reveal the 
place where their treasures lay buried. A successor to 
the invalid soldier was more knowing ; he came to the 
Alhambra poor ; but at the end of a year went off to 
Malaga, bought houses, set up a carriage, and still lives 
there, one of the richest as well as oldest men of the place ; 
all which, Mateo sagely surmised, was in consequence of 
his finding out the golden secret of these phantom Moors. 

I now perceived I had made an invaluable acquaintance 
in this son of the Alhambra, one who knew all the apocry- 
phal history of the place, and firmly believed in it, and 

cuirass (^kzue-ras' or kwe'-ras) : a piece of armor, covering the body from 
neck to thighs, before and behind. 

cim'-e-ter : a short sword with curved point. 

poniard (pon'-yard) : a small pointed dagger for stabbing. 

a-poc'-ry-phal : of doubtful authority. 



36 THE ALHAMBRA. 

whose memory was stuffed with a kind of knowledge for 
which I hav'e a lurking fancy, but which is too apt to be 
considered rubbish by less indulgent philosophers. 

Immediately opposite the Hall of the Abencerrages, a 
portal, richly adorned, leads into a hall of less tragical 
associations. It is light and lofty, exquisitely graceful in 
its architecture, paved v.dth white marble, and bears the 
name of the Hall of the Two Sisters. 

On each side of this hall are recesses or alcoves for 
ottomans and couches, on which the lords of the Alham- 
bra indulged in that dreamy repose so dear to the Orient- 
alists. A cupola or lantern admits a tempered light from 
above and a free circulation of air ; while on one side is 
heard the refreshing sound of waters from the fountain of 
the lions, and on the other side the soft plash from the 
basin in the garden of Lindaraxa. 

An abundant supply of water, brought from the moun- 
tains by old Moorish aqueducts, circulates throughout the 
palace, supplying its baths and fish-pools, sparkling in jets 
within its halls or murmuring in channels along the mar- 
ble pavements. When it has paid its tribute to the royal 
pile, and visited its gardens and parterres, it flows down 
the long avenue leading to the city, tinkling in rills, gush- 
ing in fountains, and maintaining a perpetual verdure in 
those groves that embower and beautify the whole hill of 
the Alhambra. 

Those only who have sojourned in the ardent climates 
of the South can appreciate the delights of an abode 

O-ri-ent'-al-ist : a native or inhabitant of the East. 

par-terre': a system of flower beds of different shapes and sizes, with 
walks of gravel or turf between. 
ar'-dent : hot, burning. 



PALACE OF THE ALHAMBRA. 37 

combining the breezy coolness of the mountain with the 
freshness and verdure of the valley. While the city below 
pants with the noontide heat, and the parched Vega 
trembles to the eye, the delicate airs from the Sierra Ne- 
vada play through these lofty halls, bringing with them 
the sweetness of the surroundinsr gardens. 



38 THE A LH AM BRA. 



IMPORTANT NEGOTIATIONS.— THE AUTHOR 
SUCCEEDS TO THE THRONE OF BOABDIL. 



The day was nearly spent before we could tear ourself 
from this region of poetry and romance to descend to the 
city and return to the forlorn realities of a Spanish inn. 
In a visit of ceremony to the Governor of the Alhambra, 
to whom we had brought letters, we dwelt with enthusiasm 
on the scenes we had witnessed, and could not but express 
surprise that he should reside in the city when he had such 
a paradise at his command. He pleaded the inconvenience 
of a residence in the palace from its situation on the crest 
of a hill, distant from the seat of business and the resorts of 
social intercourse. It did very well for monarchs, who 
often had need of castle walls to defend them from their 
own subjects. "But, senors," added he, smiling, "if you 
think a residence there so desirable, my apartments in the 
Alhambra are at your service." 

It is a common and almost indispensable point of polite- 
ness in a Spaniard to tell you his house is yours. " This 
house is always at the command of your Grace." In fact, 
anything of his which you admire is immediately offered 
to you. It is equally a mark of good breeding in you not 
to accept it ; so we merely bowed our acknowledgments of 
the courtesy of the Governor in offering us a royal palace. 
We were mistaken, however. The Governor was in 
earnest. " You will find a rambling set of empty, unfur- 



LMPOR TANT NE G O TIA TIONS. 



39 



nishecl rooms," said he ; " but Tia Antonia, who has charge 
of the palace, may be able to put them in some kind of 
order, and to take care of you while you are there. If you 
can make any arrangement with her for your accommoda- 
tion, and are content with scanty fare in a royal abode, the 
palace is at your service." 

We took the Governor at his word, and hastened up the 
steep street of Gomeres, and through the Great Gate 
of Justice, to negotiate with Dame Antonia. All went 
smoothly. The good Tia Antonia had a little furniture 
to put in the rooms, but it was of the commonest kind. 
We assured her we could bivouac on the floor. She could 
supply our table, but only in her own simple way ; — we 
wanted nothing better. Her niece, Dolores, would wait 
upon us ; and at the word we threw up our hats and the 
bargain was complete. 

The very next day we took up our abode in the palace, 
and never did sovereigns share a divided throne with more 
perfect harmony. Several days passed by like a dream, 
when my worthy associate, being summoned to Madrid, 
was compelled to abdicate, leaving me sole monarch of this 
shadowy realm. For myself, being in a manner a hap; 
hazard loiterer about the world, and prone to linger in its 
pleasant places, here have I been suffering day by day to 
steal away unheeded, spell-bound, for aught I know, in 
this old enchanted pile. Having always a companionable 
feeling for my reader, and being prone to live with him on 
confidential terms, I shall make it a point to communicate 
to him my reveries and researches during this state of 

bivouac {biv'-waF) : a military terra meaning to pass the night in the 
open air, without encamping, ready for action. Here it means to sleep with- 
out a regular bed. 



40 



THE ALHAMBRA. 



delicious thraldom. If they have the power of imparting 
to his imagination any of the witching charms of the place, 
he will not repine at lingering with me for a season in the 
legendary halls of the Alhambra. 

And first it is proper to give him some idea of my 
domestic arrangements : they are rather of a simple kind 
for the occupant of a regal palace ; but I trust they will be 
less liable to disastrous reverses than those of my royal 
predecessors. 

My quarters are at one end of the Governor's apart- 
ment, a suite of chambers, in front of the palace, looking 
out upon the great esplanade ; the apartment is modern, 
but the end opposite to my sleeping-room communicates 
with a cluster of little chambers, partly Moorish, partly 
Spanish, allotted to Tia Antonia and her family. In con- 
sideration of keeping the palace in order, the good dame is 
allowed all the perquisites received from visitors, and all 
the produce of the gardens ; excepting that she is expected 
to pay an occasional tribute of fruits and flowers to the 
Governor. Her family consists of a nephew and niece, the 
children of two different brothers. The nephew, Manuel 
Molina, is a young man of sterling worth and Spanish 
gravity. He had served in the army, both in Spain and the 
West Indies, but is now studying medicine in the hope of 
one day or other becoming physician to the fortress, a post 
worth at least one hundred and forty dollars a year. The 
niece is the plump little black-eyed Dolores already men- 
tioned ; and who, it is said, will one day inherit all her 
aunt's possessions, consisting of certain petty tenements 
in the fortress, in a somewhat ruinous condition it is true, 

perquisite {^pei'' -kive-zif) : something received ia addition to, or in place 
of, regular wages. 



IMP OR TANT NE G TIA TIONS. 



41 



but which, I am privately assured by Mateo Ximenes, 
yield a revenue of nearly one hundred and fifty dollars ; 
so that she is quite an heiress in the eyes of the ragged 
son of the Alhambra. 

The good dame Antonia fulfils faithfully her contract 
in regard to my board and lodging ; and as I am easily 
pleased, I find my fare excellent ; while the merry-hearted 
little Dolores keeps my apartment in order, and officiates 
as handmaid at meal-times. I have also at my command a 
tall, stuttering, yellow-haired lad, named Pepe, who works 
in the gardens, and would fain have acted as valet ; but 
in this he was forestalled by Mateo Ximenes, the "son of 
the Alhambra." This alert and officious wight has man- 
aged, somehow or other, to stick by me ever since I first 
encountered him at the outer gate of the fortress, and 
to weave himself into all my plans, until he has fairly 
appointed and installed himself my valet, cicerone, guide, 
guard, and historiographic squire; and I have been obliged 
to improve the state of his wardrobe, that he may not dis- 
grace his various functions ; so that he has cast his old 
brown mantle, as a snake does his skin, and now appears 
about the fortress with a smart Andalusian hat and jacket, 
to his infinite satisfaction, and the great astonishment of 
his comrades. The chief fault of honest Mateo is an over- 
anxiety to be useful. I am in a manner the victim of his 
officiousness ; I cannot put my foot over the threshold 
of the palace, to stroll about the fortress, but he is at 
my elbow, to explain everything I see ; and if I venture 
to ramble among the surrounding hills, he insists upon 
attending me as a guard, though I vehemently suspect he 

wight: person, creature. 

his-to-ri-o-graph'-ic : professing historical knowledge. 



42 THE ALHAMBRA. 

would be more apt to trust to the length of his legs 
than the strength of his arms, in case of attack. After 
all, however, the poor fellow is at times an amusing 
companion ; what he chiefly values himself on, is his 
stock of local information, having the most marvellous 
stories to relate of every tower, and vault, and gateway 
of the fortress, in all of which he places the most implicit 
faith. 

Most of these he has derived, according to his own ac- 
count, from his grandfather, a little legendary tailor, who 
lived to the age of nearly a hundred years, during which 
he made but two migrations beyond the precincts of the 
fortress. His shop, for the greater part of a century, was 
the resort of a knot of venerable gossips, where they 
would pass half the night talking about old times, and 
the wonderful events and hidden secrets of the place. 
The whole living, moving, thinking, and acting of this 
historical little tailor had thus been bounded by the walls 
of the Alhambra ; within them he had been born, within 
them he lived, breathed, and had his being ; within them 
he died and was buried. Fortunately for posterity his 
traditionary lore died not with him. The authentic 
Mateo, when an urchin, used to be an attentive listener 
to the narratives of his grandfather, and of the gossiping 
group assembled round the shopboard, and is thus pos- 
sessed of a stock of valuable knowledge concerning the 
Alhambra, not to be found in books, and well worthy the 
attention of every curious traveller. 

Such are the personages that constitute my regal house- 
hold ; and I question whether any of the potentates, 
Moslem or Christian, who have preceded me in the palace, 

shop'-board : a board or bench on which any work is done. 



IMP OR TANT NEGO TIA TIONS. 



43 



have been waited upon with greater fidelity, or enjoyed a 
serener sway. 

When I rise in the morning, Pepe, the stuttering lad 
from the gardens, brings me a tribute of fresh-culled 
flowers, which are afterwards arranged in vases by the 
skilful hand of Dolores. My meals are made wherever 
caprice dictates ; sometimes in one of the Moorish halls, 
sometimes under the arcades of the court of Lions, sur- 
rounded by flowers and fountains : and when I walk out, 
I am conducted by the assiduous Mateo to the most 
romantic retreats of the mountains, and delicious haunts 
of the adjacent valleys, not one of which but is the scene 
of some wonderful tale. 



44 



THE ALHAMBRA. 



INHABITANTS OF THE ALHAMBRA. 



I HAVE often observed that the more proudly a mansion 
has been tenanted in the day of its prosperity, the humbler 
are its inhabitants in the day of its decline, and that the 
palace of a king commonly ends in being the nestling- 
place of the beggar. 

The Alhambra is in a rapid state of similar transition. 
Whenever a tower falls to decay, it is seized upon by 
some tatterdemalion family, who become joint-tenants 
with the bats and owls, of its gilded halls ; and hang their 
rags, those standards of poverty, out of its windows and 
loopholes. 

I have amused myself with remarking some of the mot- 
ley characters that have thus usurped the ancient abode 
of royalty, and who seem as if placed here to give a farci- 
cal termination to the drama of human pride. One of 
these even bears the mockery of a regal title. It is a 
little old woman named Maria Antonia Sabonea, but who 
goes by the appellation of the Cockle-queen. She is 
small enough to be a fairy ; and a fairy she may be for 
aught I can find out, for no one seems to know her origin. 
Her habitation is in a kind of closet under the outer stair- 
case of the palace, and she sits in the cool stone corridor, 
plying her needle and singing from morning till night, 
with a ready joke for every one that passes; for though 

tat-ter-de-mal'-ion : ragamuffin. 



INHABITANTS OF THE ALHAMBRA. 



45 



one of the poorest, she is one of the merriest little women 
breathing. Her great merit is a gift for story-telling, 
having, I verily believe, as many stories at her command 
as the inexhaustible Scheherezade of the Thousand and 
One Nights. 

A rival personage to this little fairy queen is a portly 
old fellow with a bottle-nose, who goes about in a rusty 
garb, with a cocked hat of oil-skin and a red cockade. He 
is one of the legitimate sons of the Alhambra, and has lived 
here all his life, filling various offices, such as deputy 
constable, sexton of the parochial church, and marker of a 
fives-court, established at the foot of one of the towers. 
He is as poor as a rat, but as proud as he is ragged, boast- 
ing of his descent from the illustrious house of Aguilar. 

Of this motley community, I find the family of my gos- 
siping squire, Mateo Ximenes, to form, from their num- 
ber at least, a very important part. His boast of being 
a son of the Alhambra is not unfounded. His family has 
inhabited the fortress ever since the time of the Con- 
quest, handing down an hereditary poverty from father 
to son ; not one of them having ever been known to be 
worth a maravedi. His father, by trade a ribbon-weaver, 
and who succeeded the historical tailor as the head of the 
family, is now near seventy years of age, and lives in a 
hovel of reeds and plaster, built by his own hands, just 

Scheherezade (sha-hd-ra-zd-dd) ; the fictitious relater of the stories in 
the " Arabian Nights' Entertainments." 

bottle-nose : a large, bottle-shaped nose. 

cocked hat : a hat with the brim turned up at one or more sides. 

marker of a fives-court : one who keeps the score for a game of ball 
called Jives. 

mar-a-ve'-di : a small Spanish copper coin of less value than a cent : 
— now disused. 



46 



THE ALHAMBRA. 



above the iron gate. The furniture consists of a crazy 
bed, a table, and two or three chairs ; a wooden chest, 
containing, besides his scanty clothing, the " archives of 
the family." These are nothing more or less than the 
papers of various lawsuits sustained by different genera- 
tions ; by which it would seem that, with all their appar- 
ent carelessness and good-humor, they are a litigious 
brood. Most of the suits have been brought against 
gossiping neighbors for questioning the purity of their 
blood, and denying their being old Christians, without 
Jewish or Moorish taint. In fact, I doubt whether this 
jealousy about their blood has not kept them so poor in 
purse : spending all their earnings on lawyers and con- 
stables. The pride of the hovel is an escutcheon sus- 
pended against the wall, in which are emblazoned quarter- 
ings of various noble houses, with which this poverty- 
stricken brood claim affinity. 

There are two classes of people to whom life seems 
one long holiday, — the very rich and the very poor ; one, 
because they need do nothing; the other, because they 
have nothing to do ; but there are none who understand 
the art of doing nothing and living upon nothing, better 
than the poor classes of Spain. Climate does one-half, 
and temperament the rest. Give a Spaniard the shade in 
summer and the sun in winter, a little bread, garlic, pease, 
oil, and an old brown cloak and a guitar, and let the world 
' roll on as it pleases. Talk of poverty ! with him it has no 
disgrace. It sits upon him with a grandiose style, like his 
ragged cloak. He is a hidalgo, even when in rags. 

li-tig'-ious : fond of contending in lawsuits. 

quarterings : see note 6. 

gran'-di-ose : characterized by self-display; pompous. 



INHABITANTS OF THE ALHAMBRA. 



47 



Before concluding these remarks, I must mention one 
of the amusements of the place, which has particularly- 
struck me. I had repeatedly observed a long, lean fellow 
perched on the top of one of the towers, manoeuvring two 
or three fishing-rods, as though he were angling for the 
stars. I was for some time perplexed by the evolutions 
of this aerial fisherman, and my perplexity increased on 
observing others employed in like manner on different 
parts of the battlements and bastions ; it was not until I 
consulted Mateo Ximenes that I solved the mystery. 

It seems that the pure and airy situation of this fortress 
has rendered it a prolific breeding-place for swallows and 
martlets, who sport about its towers in myriads, with the 
holiday glee of urchins just let loose from school. To 
entrap these birds in their giddy circlings, with hooks 
baited with flies, is one of the favorite amusements of the 
ragged " sons of the Alhambra," who, with the good-for- 
nothing ingenuity of arrant idlers, have thus invented the 
art of angling in the sky. 

bastion (bast^-ymi) : a projecting mass of earth or masonry at the angles 
of a fortification. 



48 THE ALHAMBRA. 



THE HALL OF AMBASSADORS. 



In one of my visits to the old Moorish chamber wliere 
the o-ood Tia Antonia cooks her dinner and receives her 
company, I observed a mysterious door in one corner, lead- 
ing apparently into the ancient part of the edifice. My 
curiosity being aroused, I opened it, and found myself in 
a narrow, blind corridor, groping along which I came to 
the head of a dark winding staircase, leading down an 
angle of the Tower of Comares. Down this staircase I 
descended darkling, guiding myself by the wall until I came 
to a small door at the bottom, throwing which open, I was 
suddenly dazzled by emerging into the brilliant antecham- 
ber of the Hall of Ambassadors ; with the fountain of the 
court of the Alberca sparkling before me. The antecham- 
ber is separated from the court by an elegant gallery, sup- 
ported by slender columns. At each end of the antecham- 
ber are alcoves, and its ceiling is richly stuccoed and 
painted. Passing through a magnificent portal, I found 
myself in the far-famed Hall of Ambassadors, the audience 
chamber of the Moslem monarchs. It is said to be thirty- 
seven feet square, and sixty feet high ; occupies the whole 
interior of the Tower of Comares ; and still bears the 
traces of past magnificence. The walls are beautifully 

stuccoed (jtuk'-kod) : covered with decorations moulded in fine plaster. 



THE HALL OF AMBASSADORS. 



49 



stuccoed and decorated with Morisco fancifulness ; the 
lofty ceiling was originally of the same favorite material, 
with the usual frostwork and pensile ornaments ; which, 
with the embellishments of vivid coloring and gilding, 
must have been gorgeous in the extreme. Unfortunately 
it gave way during an earthquake, and brought down with 
it an immense arch which traversed the hall. It was 
replaced by the present vault or dome of larch or cedar, 
with intersecting ribs, the whole curiously wrought and 
richly colored ; still Oriental in its character, reminding 
one of " those ceilings of cedar and vermilion that we read 
of in the Prophets and the Arabian Nights." 

From the great height of the vault above the windows, 
the upper part of the hall is almost lost in obscurity ; yet 
there is a magnificence as well as solemnity in the gloom, 
as through it we have gleams of rich gilding and the 
brilliant tints of the Moorish pencil. 

The royal throne was placed opposite the entrance in a 
recess, which still bears an inscription intimating that Yu- 
sef I. (the monarch who completed the Alhambra) made 
this the throne of his empire. Everything in this noble 
hall seems to have been calculated to surround the throne 
with impressive dignity and splendor ; there was none of 
the elegant voluptuousness which reigns in other parts of 
the palace. The tower is of massive strength, domineer- 
ing over the whole edifice and overhanging the steep hill- 
side. On three sides of the Hall of Ambassadors are 
windows cut through the immense thickness of the walls 
and commanding extensive prospects. The balcony of 
the central window especially looks down upon the ver- 
dant valley of the Darro, with its walks, its groves, and 

Mo-ris'-co: Moorish. pen'-sile : hanging, pendent. 



50 



THE ALHAMBRA. 



gardens. To the left it enjoys a distant prospect of the 
Vega; while directly in front rises the rival height of the 
Albaycin, with its medley of streets, and terraces, and 
gardens, and once crowned by a fortress that vied in 
power with the Alhambra. " 111 fated the man who lost 
all this ! " exclaimed Charles V., as he looked forth from 
this window upon the enchanting scenery it commands. 

The balcony of the window where this royal exclama- 
tion was made, has of late become one of my favorite re- 
sorts. I have just been seated there, enjoying the close 
of a long, brilliant day. The sun, as he sank behind the 
purple mountains of Alhama, sent a stream of effulgence 
up the valley of the Darro, that spread a melancholy pomp 
over the ruddy towers of the Alhambra ; while the Vega , 
covered with a slight sultry vapor that caught the setting 
ray, seemed spread out in the distance like a golden sea. 
Not a breath of air disturbed the stillness of the hour, and 
though the faint sound of music and merriment now and 
then rose from the gardens of the Darro, it but rendered 
more impressive the monumental silence of the pile which 
overshadowed me. It was one of those hours and scenes 
in which memory asserts an almost magical power : and, 
like the evening sun beaming on these mouldering towers, 
sends back her retrospective rays to light up the glories 
of the past. 

As I sat watching the effect of the declining daylight 
upon this Moorish pile, I was led into a consideration of 
the light, elegant, and voluptuous character prevalent 
throughout its internal architecture, and to contrast it 
with the grand but gloomy solemnity of the Gothic edi- 
fices reared by the Spanish conquerors. The very archi- 
tecture thus bespeaks the opposite and irreconcilable 



THE HALL OF AMBASSADORS. 5 I 

natures of the two warlike people who so long battled 
here for the mastery of the Peninsula. By degrees I fell 
into a course of musing upon the singular fortunes of the 
Arabian or Morisco-Spanifirds, whose whole existence is 
as a tale that is told, and certainly forms one of the most 
anomalous yet splendid episodes in history. Potent and 
durable as was their dominion, we scarcely know how to 
call them. They were a nation without a legitimate 
country or name. A remote wave of the great Arabian 
inundation, cast upon the shores of Europe, they seem 
to have all the impetus of the first rush of the torrent. 
Their career of conquest, from the rock of Gibraltar to the 
cliffs of the Pyrenees, was as rapid and brilliant as the 
Moslem victories of Syria and Egypt. Nay, had they not 
been checked on the plains of Tours, all France, all Eu- 
rope, might have been overrun with the same facility as 
the empires of the East, and the Crescent at this day have 
glittered on the fanes of Paris and London. 

Repelled within the limits of the Pyrejiees, the mixed 
hordes of Asia and Africa, that formed this great irrup- 
tion, gave up the Moslem principle of conquest, and sought 
to establish in Spain a peaceful and permanent dominion. 
As conquerors, their heroism was only equalled by their 
moderation ; and in both, for a time, they excelled the 
nations with whom they contended. Severed from their 
native homes, they loved the land given them as they 
supposed by Allah, and strove to embellish it with every- 

a-nom'-a-lous : irregular, deviating from the general rule. 
ep'-i-sode : incident, event. Tours : see note i. 

Cres'-cent: the figure of the new moon used for the symbol of Mahomet- 
anism, as the cross is that of the Christian religion. 

fanes : temples. Allah ; the Arabic name for God. 



52 THE A LH AM BR A. 

thing that could administer to the happiness of man. 
Laying the foundations of their power in a system of 
wise and equitable laws, diligently cultivating the arts 
and sciences, and promoting agriculture, manufactures, and 
commerce, they gradually formed an empire unrivalled for 
its prosperity by any of the empires of Christendom ; and 
diligently drawing round them the graces and refinements 
which marked the Arabian empire in the East, at the 
time of its greatest civilization, they diffused the light of 
Oriental knowledge through the western regions of be- 
nighted Europe. 

The cities of Arabian Spain became the resort of Chris- 
tian artisans, to instruct themselves in the useful arts. 
The universities of Toledo, Cordova, Seville, and Granada 
were sought by the pale student from other lands to 
acquaint himself with the sciences of the Arabs and the 
treasured lore of antiquity ; the lovers of the gay science 
resorted to Cordova and Granada, to imbibe the poetry 
and music of the East ; and the steel-clad warriors of the 
North hastened thither to accomplish themselves in the 
graceful exercises and courteous usages of chivalry. 

If the Moslem monuments in Spain, if the Mosque of 
Cordova, the Alcazar of Seville, and the Alhambra of 
Granada, still bear inscriptions boasting of the power and 
permanency of their dominion, can the boast be derided as 
arrogant and vain } Generation after generation, century 
after century, passed away, and still they maintained pos- 
session of the land. A period elapsed longer than that 
which has passed since England was subjugated by the 
Norman Conqueror, and the descendants of Musa and 
Taric might as little anticipate being driven into exile 

Musa and Taric: see note i. 



THE HALL OF AMBASSADORS. 



53 



across the same straits, traversed by their triumphant 
ancestors, as the descendants of Rollo and William, and 
their veteran peers, may dream of being driven back to 
the shores of Normandy. 

With all this, however, the Moslem empire in Spain 
was but a brilliant exotic, that took no permanent root in 
the soil it embellished. Severed from all their neighbors 
in the West by impassable barriers of faith and manners, 
and separated by seas and deserts from their kindred of 
the East, the Morisco-Spaniards were an isolated people. 
Their whole existence was a prolonged, though gallant 
and chivalric struggle for a foothold in a usurped land. 

They were the outposts and frontiers of Islamism. 
The Peninsula was the great battle-ground where the 
Gothic conquerors of the North and the Moslem conquer- 
ors of the East met and strove for mastery ; and the fiery 
courage of the Arab was at length subdued by the obsti- 
nate and persevering valor of the Goth. 

Never was the annihilation of a people more complete 
than that of the Morisco-Spaniards. Where are they? 
Ask the shores of Barbary and its desert places. The 
exiled remnant of their once powerful empire disappeared 
among the barbarians of Africa, and ceased to be a nation. 
They have not even left a distinct name behind them, 
though for nearly eight centuries they were a distinct 
people. The home of their adoption, and of their occu- 
pation for ages, refuses to acknowledge them, except as 
invaders and usurpers. A few broken monuments are all 
that remain to bear witness to their power and dominion, 
as solitary rocks, left far in the interior, bear testimony 
to the extent of some vast inundation. Such is the 



54 



THE ALHAMBRA. 



Alhambra ; — a Moslem pile in the midst of a Christian 
land ; an Oriental palace amidst the Gothic edifices of the 
West ; an elegant memento of a brave, intelligent, and 
graceful people, who conquered, ruled, flourished, and 
passed away. 



ALHAMAK, FOUNDER OF THE ALHAMBRA. 55 



ALHAMAR, THE FOUNDER OF THE 
ALHAMBRA. 



The Moors of Granada regarded the Alhambra as a 
miracle of art, and had a tradition that the king who 
founded it dealt in magic, or at least in alchemy, by means 
whereof he procured the immense sums of gold expended 
in its erection. A brief view of his reign will show the 
secret of his wealth. His name, Alhamar, was given to 
him, we are told, on account of his ruddy complexion. 

He was of the noble and opulent line of the Beni Nasar, 
or tribe of Nasar, and was born in Arjona, in the year 
of the Hegira 592 (a.d. 1195). At his birth the astrol- 
ogers, we are told, cast his horoscope according to Ori- 
ental custom, and pronounced it highly auspicious ; and a 
santon predicted for him a glorious career. No expense 
was spared in fitting him for the high destinies prognosti- 
cated. Before he attained the full years of manhood, the 

al'-che-my : an ancient science which aimed to turn baser metals into 
gold, to find a universal remedy for sickness, etc. 

He-gi'-ra: the flight of Mahomet from Mecca; the epoch from which the 
Mahometan era is reckoned. 

as-trol'-o-ger : a person who in former times studied the stars and pre- 
tended to foretell events by their aspects and situations. 

hor'-o-scope : an observation of the stars made at the time of a person's 
birth, by which his future was foretold. 

au-spi'-cious : favorable. san'-ton : a Moslem saint or hermit. 

prog-nos'-ti-ca-ted : predicted, foretold. 



56 THE ALHAMBRA. 

famous battle of the Navas (or plains) of Tolosa shattered 
the Moorish empire, and eventually severed the Moslems 
of Spain from the Moslems of Africa. Factions soon arose 
among the former, headed by warlike chiefs ambitious ot 
grasping the sovereignty of the Peninsula. Alhamar be- 
came engaged in these wars ; he was the general and 
leader of the Beni Nasar, and, as such, he opposed and 
thwarted the ambition of Aben Hud, who had raised his 
standard among the warlike mountains of the Alpuxarras, 
and been proclaimed king of Murcia and Granada. Many 
conflicts took place between these warring chieftains; 
Alhamar dispossessed his rival of several important places, 
and was proclaimed king of Jaen by his soldiery ; but he 
aspired to the sovereignty of the whole of Andalusia, for 
he was of a sanguine spirit and lofty ambition. His valor 
and generosity went hand in hand ; what he gained by the 
one he secured by the other ; and at the death of Aben 
Hud (a.d. 1238) he became sovereign of all the territories 
which owed allegiance to that powerful chief. He made 
his formal entry into Granada in the same year, amid the 
enthusiastic shouts of the multitude, who hailed him as 
the only one capable of uniting the various factions which 
prevailed, and which threatened to lay the empire at the 
mercy of the Christian princes. 

Alhamar established his court in Granada ; he was the 
first of the illustrious line of Nasar that sat upon a throne. 
He took immediate measures to put his little kingdom in 
a posture of defence against the assaults to be expected 
from his Christian neighbors, repairing and strengthening 
the frontier posts and fortifying the capital. Not content 
with the provisions of the Moslem law, by which every 
man is made a soldier, he raised a regular army to garrison 



ALHAMAR, FOUNDER OF THE ALHAMBRA. 57 

his strongholds, allowing every soldier stationed on the 
frontier a portion of land for the support of himself, his 
horse, and his family, — thus interesting him in the defence 
of the soil in which he had a property. These wise 
precautions were justified by events. The Christians, 
profiting by the dismemberment of the Moslem power, 
were rapidly regaining their ancient territories. James the 
Conqueror had subjected all Valencia, and Ferdinand the 
Saint sat down in person before Jaen, the bulwark of 
Granada. Alhamar ventured to oppose him in the open 
field, but met with a signal defeat, and retired discomfited 
to his capital. Jaen still held out, and kept the enemy at 
bay during an entire winter, but Ferdinand swore not to 
raise his camp until he had gained possession of the place. 
Alhamar found it impossible to throw reinforcements into 
the besieged city ; and was conscious of the insufficiency 
of his means to cope with the potent sovereign of Castile. 
Taking a sudden resolution, therefore, he repaired privately 
to the Christian camp, made his unexpected appearance in 
the presence of King Ferdinand, and frankly announced 
himself as the king of Granada. " I come, " said he, 
''confiding in your good faith, to put myself under your 
protection. Take all I possess and receive me as your 
vassal"; so saying, he knelt and kissed the king's hand 
in token of allegiance. 

Ferdinand was won by this instance of confiding faith, 
and determined not to be outdone in generosity. He raised 
his late enemy from the earth, embraced him as a friend, 
and, refusing the wealth he offered, left him sovereign of 

sat down : encamped. 

vas'-sal: one who holds his possessions subject to the will of a superior 
or lord. 



58 THE ALHAMBRA. 

his dominions, under the feudal tenure of a yearly tribute, 
attendance at the Cortes as one of the nobles of the 
empire, and service in war with a certain number of horse- 
men. He moreover conferred on him the honor of knight- 
hood, and armed him with his own hands. 

It was not long after this that Alhamar was called upon 
for his military services, to aid King Ferdinand in his 
famous siege of Seville. The Moorish king sallied forth 
with five hundred chosen horsemen of Granada, than 
whom none in the world knew better how to manage the 
steed or wield the lance. It was a humiliating service, 
however, for they had to draw the sword against their 
brethren of the faith. 

Alhamar gained a melancholy distinction by his prowess 
in this renowned conquest, but more true honor by the 
humanity which he prevailed upon Ferdinand to introduce 
into the usages of war. When in 1248 the famous city of 
Seville surrendered to the Castilian monarch, Alhamar 
returned sad and full of care to his dominions. He saw 
the gathering ills that menaced the Moslem cause ; and 
uttered an ejaculation often used by him in moments of 
anxiety and trouble, — " How straitened and wretched 
would be our life, if our hope were not so spacious and 
extensive ! " 

As he approached Granada on his return he beheld 
arches of triumph which had been erected in honor of his 
martial exploits. The people thronged forth to see him 

feu'-dal ten'-ure : the right which a vassal had in the Middle Ages to land 
or other property, by the payment of some tax or service to his superior lord 
or sovereign. 

Cortes {cor-tes') : the assembly of the states or legislative body of Spain. 

prow'-ess : bravery. 



AI IIAMAR, FOUNDER OF THE ALHAMBRA. 59 

with impatient joy, for his benignant rule had won all 
hearts. Wherever he passed he was hailed with acclama- 
tions as "The Conqueror." Alhamar gave a melancholy 
shake of the head on hearing the appellation. "There is 
no conqueror but God ! " exclaimed he. From that time 
forward this exclamation became his motto, and the motto 
of his descendants, and appears to this day emblazoned on 
his escutcheons in the halls of the Alhambra. 

Alhamar had purchased peace by submission to the 
Christian yoke ; but he was conscious that, with elements 
so discordant and motives for hostility so deep and ancient, 
it could not be permanent. Acting, therefore, upon the 
old maxim, " Arm thyself in peace and clothe thyself in 
summer," he improved the present interval of tranquillity 
by fortifying his dominions, replenishing his arsenals, and 
promoting those useful arts which give wealth and real 
power. He confided the command of his various cities to 
such as had distinguished themselves by valor and prudence, 
and who seemed most acceptable to the people. He 
organized a vigilant police, and established rigid rules for 
the administration of justice. The poor and the distressed 
always found ready admission to his presence, and he 
attended personally to their assistance and redress. He 
erected hospitals for the blind, the aged, and infirm, and 
all those incapable of labor, and visited them frequently ; 
not on set days with pomp and form, so as to give time for 
everything to be put in order, and every abuse concealed, 
but suddenly, and unexpectedly, informing himself, by 
actual observation and close inquiry, of the treatment of 
the sick, and the conduct of those appointed to administer 
to their relief. He founded schools and colleges, which he 
visited in the same manner, inspecting personally the 



6o THE ALHAMBRA. 

instruction of the youth. He established butcheries and 
public ovens, that the people might be furnished with 
wholesome provisions at just and regular prices. He intro- 
duced abundant streams of water into the city, erecting 
baths and fountains, and constructing aqueducts and canals 
to irrigate and fertilize the Vega. By these means pros- 
perity and abundance prevailed in this beautiful city ; its 
gates were thronged with commerce, and its warehouses 
filled with luxuries and merchandise of every clime and 
country. 

He moreover gave premiums and privileges to the best 
artisans ; improved the breed of horses and other domestic 
animals; encouraged husbandry ; and increased the natural 
fertility of the soil twofold by his protection, making the 
lovely valleys of his kingdom to bloom like gardens. He 
fostered also the growth and fabrication of silk, until the 
looms of Granada surpassed even those of Syria in the 
fineness and beauty of their productions. He moreover 
caused the mines of gold and silver and other metals, 
found in the mountainous regions of his dominions, to be 
diligently worked, and was the first king of Granada who 
struck money of gold and silver with his r.':.me, taking 
great care that the coins should be skilfully executed. 

It was towards the middle of the thirteenth century, and 
just after his return from the siege of Seville, that he com- 
menced the splendid palace of the Alhambra ; superintend- 
ing the building of it in person ; mingling frequently 
among the artists and workmen, and directing their labors. 

Though thus magnificent in his works and great in his 
enterprises, he was simple in his person and moderate in 
his enjoyments. His dress was not merely void of splen- 
dor, but so plain as not to distinguish him from his sub- 



ATJIAMAR, FOUNDER OF THE ALHAMBRA. 6 1 

jects. His wives were daughters of the principal nobles, 
and were treated by him as friends and rational com- 
panions. He passed much of his time in his gardens ; 
especially in those of the Alhambra, which he had stored 
with the rarest plants and the most beautiful and aromatic 
flowers. Here he delighted himself in reading histories, or 
in causing them to be read and related to him, and some- 
times in intervals of leisure, employed himself in the 
instruction of his three sons, for whom he had provided 
the most learned and virtuous masters. 

As he had frankly and voluntarily offered himself a 
tributary vassal to Ferdinand, so he always remained 
loyal to his word, giving him repeated proofs of fidelity 
and attachment. When that renowned monarch died in 
Seville in 1254, Alhamar sent ambassadors to condole with 
his successor, Alonzo X., and with them a gallant train of 
a hundred Moorish cavaliers of distinguished rank, who 
were to attend round the royal bier during the funeral 
ceremonies, each bearing a -lighted taper. 

Alhamar retained his faculties and vigor to an advanced 
age. In his seventy-ninth year (a.d. 1272) he took the 
field on horseback, accompanied by the flower of his 
chivalry, to resist an invasion of his territories. As the 
army sallied forth from Granada, one of the principal 
guides, who rode in the advance, accidentally broke his 
lance against the arch of the gate. The counsellors of the 
king, alarmed by this circumstance, which was considered 
an evil omen, entreated him to return. Their supplica- 
tions were in vain. The king persisted, and at noontide 
the omen, say the Moorish chroniclers, was fatally ful- 
filled. Alhamar was suddenly struck with illness, and had 
nearly fallen from his horse. He was placed on a litter, 



62 THE ALHAMBRA. 

and borne back towards Granada, but his illness increased 
to such a degree that they were obliged to pitch his tent in 
the Vega. His physicians were filled with consternation, 
not knowing what remedy to prescribe. In a few hours 
he died, vomiting blood and in violent convulsions. The 
Castilian prince, Don Philip, brother of Alonzo X., was by 
his side when he expired. His body was embalmed, 
enclosed in a silver coffin, and buried in the Alhambra in 
a sepulchre of precious marble, amidst the unfeigned 
lamentations of his subjects, who bewailed him as a 
parent. 

I have said that he was the first of the illustrious line of 
Nasar that sat upon a throne. I may add that he was the 
founder of a brilliant kingdom which will ever be famous 
in history and romance as the last rallying-place of Moslem 
power and splendor in the Peninsula, 



THE MYSJEKIOUS CHAMBERS. 63 



THE MYSTERIOUS CHAMBERS. 



As I was rambling one day about the Moorish halls, my 
attention was, for the first time, attracted to a door in 
a remote gallery, communicating apparently with some 
part of the Alhambra which I had not yet explored. I 
attempted to open it, but it was locked. I knocked, but no 
one answered, and the sound seemed to reverberate 
through empty chambers. Here then was a mystery. 
Here was the haunted wing of the castle. How was I to 
get at the dark secrets here shut up from the public eye .'' 
Should I come privately at night with lamp and sword, 
according to the prying custom of heroes of romance ; or 
should I endeavor to draw the secret from Pepe the stut- 
tering gardener ; or the ingenuous Dolores, or the loqua- 
cious Mateo .-* Or should I go frankly and openly to Dame 
Antonia and ask her all about it } I chose the latter 
course, as being the simplest though the least romantic ; 
and found, somewhat to my disappointment, that there 
was no mystery in the case. I was welcome to explore 
the apartment, and there was the key. 

Thus provided, I returned forthwith to the door. It 
opened, as I had surmised, to a range of vacant chambers ; 
but they were quite different from the rest of the palace. 
The architecture, though rich and antiquated, was Euro- 
pean. There was nothing Moorish about it. The first 
two rooms were lofty ; the ceilings, broken in many places, 



64 THE ALHAMBRA. 

were of cedar, deeply panelled and skilfully carved with 
fruits and flowers, intermingled with grotesque masks or 
faces. 

The walls had evidently in ancient times been hung with 
damask ; but now were naked, and scrawled over by that 
class of aspiring travellers who defile noble monuments 
with their worthless names. The windows, dismantled, 
and open to wind and weather, looked out into a charming 
little secluded garden, where an alabaster fountain sparkled 
among roses and myrtles, and was surrounded by orange 
and citron trees, some of which flung their branches into 
the chambers. Beyond these rooms were two saloons, 
longer but less lofty, looking also into the garden. In the 
compartments of the panelled ceilings were baskets of fruit 
and garlands of flowers, painted by no mean hand, and in 
tolerable preservation. The walls also had been painted 
in fresco in the Italian style, but the paintings were nearly 
obliterated ; the windows were in the same shattered state 
with those of the other chambers. This fanciful suite of 
rooms terminated in an open gallery with balustrades, run- 
ning at right angles along another side of the garden. 
The whole apartment, so delicate and elegant in its deco- 
rations, so choice and sequestered in its situation along this 
retired little garden, and so different in architecture from 
the neighboring halls, awakened an interest in its history. 
I found on inquiry that it was an apartment fitted up by 
Italian artists in the early part of the last century, at the 
time when Philip V. and his second wife, the beautiful 

dam'-ask: cloth made of a mixture of silk and flax, and woven with 
flowers or figures. It was originally brought from Damascus. 

fres'-co : a method of painting upon walls covered with a freshly laid 
coat of plaster, into which the colors sink and become durable. 



THE MYSTERIOUS CHAMBERS. 65 

Elizabeth of Farnese, were expected at the Alhambra. It 
was destined for the queen and the ladies of her train. 
One of the loftiest chambers had been her sleeping-room. 
A narrow staircase, now walled up, led up to a delightful 
belv^d-re, which was fitted up as a boudoir for the fair 
Elizabeth, and still retains the name of the Queen's 
Toilet. 

One window of the royal sleeping-room commanded a 
prospect of the Generalife and its embowered terraces ; 
another looked out into the little secluded garden I have 
mentioned, which was decidedly Moorish in its character, 
and also had its history. It was in fact the garden of 
Lindaraxa, so often mentioned in descriptions of the 
Alhambra, but who this Lindaraxa was I had never heard 
explained. A little research gave me the few particulars 
known about her. She was a Moorish beauty who flour- 
ished in the court of Mohamed the Left-Handed, and was 
the daughter of his loyal adherent, the governor of Malaga, 
who sheltered him in his city when driven from the throne. 
On regaining his crown, the governor was rewarded for his 
(idelity. His daughter had her apartment in the Alham- 
bra, and was given by the king in marriage to Nasar, a 
young prince descended from Aben Hud the Just. 

Four centuries had elapsed since the fair Lindaraxa 
passed away, yet how much of the fragile beauty of the 
scenes she inhabited remained ! The garden still bloomed 

bel'-ve-dere : a small building on the top of an edifice, open on one or 
more sides. It means literally beautiful view, and is constructed as an out- 
look over some fine prospect. 

One of the things in which the Moorish kings interfered was in the 
marriage of their nobles : hence it came that all the gentlemen attached to the 
royal person were married in the palace; and there was always a chamber 
destined for the ceremony. — Irving. 



()^ THE ALHAMBRA. 

in which she delighted ; the fountain still presented the 
crystal mirror in_ which her charms may once have been 
reflected ; the alabaster, it is true, had lost its whiteness ; 
the basin beneath, overrun with weeds, had become the 
lurking-place of the lizard, but there was something in 
the very decay that enhanced the interest of the scene, 
speaking as it did of that mutability, the irrevocable lot of 
man and all his works. 

The desolation too of these chambers, once the abode 
of the proud and elegant Elizabeth, had a more touching 
charm for me than if I had beheld them in their pristine 
splendor, glittering with the pageantry of a court. 

When I returned to my quarters, in the governor's 
apartment, everything seemed tame and commonplace 
after the poetic region I had left. The thought sug- 
gested itself : Why could I not change my quarters to 
these vacant chambers } that would indeed be living in 
the Alhambra, surrounded by its gardens and fountains, 
as in the time of the Moorish sovereigns. I proposed 
the change to Dame Antonia and her family, and it oc- 
casioned vast surprise. They could not conceive any 
rational inducement for the choice of an apartment so for- 
lorn, remote, and solitary. Dolores exclaimed at its fright- 
ful loneliness ; nothing but bats and owls flitting about, 
— and then a fox and wildcat were kept in the vaults of 
the neighboring baths, and roamed about at night. The 
good Tia had more reasonable objections. The neighbor- 
hood was infested by vagrants ; gipsies swarmed in the 
caverns of the adjacent hills ; the palace was ruinous and 
easy to be entered in many places ; the rumor of a stranger 
quartered alone in one of the remote and ruined apart- 

pris -tine : former. 



THE iMYS'I'ERIOUS CHAMBERS. 



^7 



ments, out of the hearing of the rest of the inhabitants, 
might tempt unwelcome visitors in the night, especially as 
foreigners were always supposed to be well stocked with 
money. I was not to be diverted from my humor, how- 
ever, and my will was law with these good people. So, 
calling in the assistance of a carpenter, and the ever 
officious Mateo Ximenes, the doors and windows were 
soon placed in a state of tolerable security, and the 
sleeping-room of the stately Elizabeth prepared for my 
reception. Mateo kindly volunteered as a body-guard to 
sleep in my antechamber ; but I did not think it worth 
while to put his valor to the proof. 

With all the hardihood I had assumed and all the pre- 
cautions I had taken, I must confess the first night passed 
in these quarters was inexpressibly dreary. I do not think 
it was so much the apprehension of dangers from without 
that affected me, as the character of the place itself, with 
all its strange associations : the deeds of violence com- 
mitted there ; the tragical ends of many of those who had 
once reigned there in splendor. 

The whole family escorted me to my chamber, and took 
leave of me as of one engaged on a perilous enterprise ; 
and when I heard their retreating steps die away along 
the waste antechambers and echoing galleries, and turned 
the key of my door, I was reminded of those stories, 
where the hero is left to accomplish the adventure of an 
enchanted house. 

Even the thoughts of the fair Elizabeth, and the beau- 
ties of her court, who had once graced these chambers, 
now, by a perversion of fancy, added to the gloom. Here 
was the scene of their transient gayety and loveliness ; 
here were the very traces of their elegance and enjoy- 



68 THE ALHAMBRA. 

ment ; but what and where were they ? Dust and ashes ! 
tenants of the tomb ! phantoms of the memory ! 

A vague and indescribable awe was creeping over me. 
I would fain have ascribed it to the thoughts of robbers 
awakened by the evening's conversation, but I felt it was 
something more unreal and absurd. The long-buried 
superstitions of the nursery were reviving, and asserting 
their power over my imagination. Everything began to 
be affected by the working of my mind. I cast my eyes 
into the garden of Lindaraxa ; the groves presented a gulf 
of shadows ; the thickets, indistinct and ghastly shapes. 
I was glad to close the window, but my chamber itself 
became infected. There was a slight rustling noise over- 
head ; a bat suddenly emerged from a broken panel of the 
ceiling, flitting about the room and athwart my solitary 
lamp ; and as the fateful bird almost flouted my face with 
his noiseless wing, the grotesque faces carved in high 
relief in the cedar ceiling, whence he had emerged, seemed 
to mope and mow at me. 

Rousing myself, and half smiling at this temporary 
weakness, I resolved to brave it out in the true spirit of 
the hero of the enchanted house ; so, taking lamp in hand, 
I saUied forth to make a tour of the palace. Notwith- 
standing every mental exertion the task was a severe one. 
I had to traverse waste halls and mysterious galleries, 
where the rays of the lamp extended but a short distance 
around me. I walked, as it were, in a mere halo of light, 
walled in by impenetrable darkness. The vaulted corridors 
were as caverns ; the ceilings of the halls were lost in 
gloom. I recalled all that had been said of the danger 
from interlopers in these remote and ruined apartments. 

mope and mow : to make mouths, wry faces. 



THE MYSTERIOUS CHAMBERS. 6q 

Might not some vagrant foe be lurking before or behind 
me, in the outer daricness ? My own shadow, cast upon 
the wall, began to disturb me. The echoes of my own 
footsteps along the corridors made me pause and look 
round. I was traversing scenes fraught with dismal recol- 
lections. One dark passage led down to the mosque where 
Yusef, the Moorish monarch, the finisher of the Alhambra, 
had been basely murdered. In another place I trod the 
gallery where another monarch had been struck down by 
the poniard of a relative whom he had thwarted in his 
love. 

A low murmuring sound, as of stifled voices and clank- 
ing chains, now reached me. I knew it to be the rush 
of water through subterranean channels, but it sounded 
strangely in the night, and reminded me of the dismal 
stories to which it had given rise. 

I had no desire for further perambulation ; but returned 
to my chamber with infinitely more alacrity than I had 
sallied forth, and drew my breath more freely when once 
more within its walls and the door bolted behind me. 
When I awoke in the morning, with the sun shining in at 
my window and lighting up every part of the building 
with his cheerful and truth-telling beams, I could scarcely 
recall the shadows and fancies conjured up by the gloom 
of the preceding night ; or believe that the scenes around 
me, so naked and apparent, could have been clothed with 
such imaginary horrors. 

In the course of a few evenings a thorough change 
took place in the scene and its associations. The moon, 
which when I took possession of my new apartments 
was invisible, gradually gained each evening upon the 
darkness of the night, and at length rolled in full splendor 



^o 



THE ALHAMBRA. 



above the towers, pouring a flood of tempered light into 
every court and hall. The garden beneath my windov^, 
before vi^rapped in gloom, was gently lighted up ; the 
orange and citron trees were tipped with silver ; the foun- 
tain sparkled in the moonbeams, and even the blush of the 
rose was faintly visible. 

I now felt the poetic merit of the Arabic inscription on 
the walls, — " How beauteous is this garden ; where the 
flowers of the earth vie with the stars of heaven. What 
can compare with the vase of yon alabaster fountain 
filled with crystal water.'' nothing but the moon in her 
fulness, shining in the midst of an unclouded sky ! " 

On such heavenly nights I would sit for hours at my 
window inhaling the sweetness of the garden, and musing 
on the checkered fortunes of those whose history was 
dimly shadowed out in the elegant memorials around. 
Sometimes, when all was quiet, and the clock from the 
distant cathedral of Granada struck the midnight hour, 
I have sallied out on another tour and wandered over 
the whole building ; but how different from my first tour ! 
No longer dark and mysterious ; no longer peopled with 
shadowy foes ; no longer recalling scenes of violence and 
murder ; all was open, spacious, beautiful ; everything 
called up pleasing and romantic fancies ; Lindaraxa once 
more walked in her garden ; the gay chivalry of Moslem 
Granada once more glittered about the Court of Lions! 
Who can do justice to a moonlight night in such a climate 
and such a place } The temperature of a summer mid- 
night in Andalusia is perfectly ethereal. We seem lifted 
up into a purer atmosphere ; we feel a serenity of soul, a 
buoyancy of spirits, an elasticity of frame, which render 
mere existence happiness. But when moonlight is added 



THE MYSTERIOUS CHAMBERS. 



n 



to all this, the effect is like enchantment. Under its 
plastic sway the Alhambra seems to regain its pristine 
glories. Every rent and chasm of time ; every mouldering 
tint and weather-stain is gone ; the marble resumes its 
original whiteness ; the long colonnades brighten in the 
moonbeams ; the halls are illuminated with a softened 
radiance, — we tread the enchanted palace of an Arabian 
tale! 

What a delight, at such a time, to ascend to the little 
airy pavilion of the Queen's Toilet, which, like a bird-cage, 
overhangs the valley of the Darro, and gaze from its light 
arcades upon the moonlight prospect ! To the right, the 
swelling mountains of the Sierra Nevada, robbed of their 
ruggedness and softened into a fairy land, with their snowy 
summits gleaming like silver clouds against the deep blue 
sky. And then to lean over the parapet and gaze down 
upon Granada spread out like a map below ; all buried in 
deep repose ; the white palaces and convents sleeping in 
the moonshine, and beyond all these the vapory Vega 
fading away like a dreamland in the distance. 

Sometimes the faint click of castanets rises from the 
public walk, where some gay Andalusians are dancing 
away the summer night. Sometimes the dubious tones of 
a guitar and the notes of an amorous voice, tell perchance 
the whereabout of some moonstruck lover serenading his 
lady's window. 

Such is a faint picture of the moonlight nights I have 
passed loitering about the courts and halls and balconies 
of this most suggestive pile ; " feeding my fancy with 

col-on-nade' : a range or row of columns placed at regular intervals. 

pa-vil'-ion : a small insulated building. 

par'-a-pet : a wall, breast high, to prevent people from falling over. 



"Jl THE ALHAMBRA. 

sugared suppositions," and enjoying that mixture of reverie 
and sensation which steal away existence in a southern 
climate ; so that it has been almost morning before I have 
retired to bed, and been lulled to sleep by the falling 
waters of the fountain of Lindaraxa. 



PANORAMA FROM THE TOWER OF COM ARES. 73 



PANORAMA FROM THE TOWER OF 
COMARES. 



It is a serene and beautiful morning : the sun has not 
gained sufficient power to destroy the freshness of the 
night. What a morning to mount to the summit of the 
Tower of Comares, and take a bird's-eye view of Granada 
and its environs ! 

Come then, worthy reader and comrade, follow my 
steps into this vestibule, ornamented with rich tracery, 
v/hich opens into the Hall of Ambassadors. We will not 
enter the hall, however, but turn to this small door open- 
ing into the wall. Have a care ! here are steep winding 
steps and but scanty light ; yet up this narrow, obscure, 
and spiral staircase, the proud monarchs of Granada and 
their queens have often ascended to the battlements to 
watch the approach of invading armies, or gaze with 
anxious hearts on the battles in the Vega. 

At length we have reached the roof, and may take 
breath for a moment, while we cast a general eye over the 
splendid panorama of city and country ; of rocky moun- 
tain, verdant valley, and fertile plain ; of castle, cathedral, 
Moorish towers, and Gothic domes, crumbling ruins, and 
blooming groves. Let us approach the battlements, and 

en-vi'-rons: places which surround or lie in the neighborhood of an- 
other place. 



74 THE ALHAMBRA. 

cast our eyes immediately below. See, on this side we 
have the whole plain of the Alhambra laid open to us, 
and can look down into its courts and gardens. At the 
foot of the tower is the Court of the Alberca, with its great 
tank or fishpool, bordered with flowers ; and yonder is the 
Court of Lions, with its famous fountain, and its light 
Moorish arcades ; and in the centre of the pile is the 
little garden of Lindaraxa, buried in the heart of the build- 
ing, with its roses and citrons and shrubbery of emerald 
green. 

That belt of battlements, studded with square towers, 
straggling round the whole brow of the hill, is the outer 
boundary of the fortress. Some of the towers, you may 
perceive, are in ruins, and their massive fragments buried 
among vines, fig-trees, and aloes. 

Let us look on this northern side of the tower. It is 
a giddy height ; the very foundations of the tower rise 
above the groves of the steep hill-side. And see ! a long 
fissure in the massive walls shows that the tower has 
been rent by some of the earthquakes which from time to 
time have thrown Granada into consternation ; and which, 
sooner or later, must reduce this crumbling pile to a mere 
mass of ruin. The deep narrow glen below us, which 
gradually v^idens as it opens from the mountains, is the 
valley of the Darro ; you see the little river winding its 
way under embowered terraces, and among orchards and 
flower-gardens. It is a stream famous in old times for 
yielding gold, and its sands are still sifted occasionally, in 
search of the precious ore. Some of those white pavilions, 
which here and there gleam from among groves and vine- 
yards, were rustic retreats of the Moors, to enjoy the 
refreshment of their gardens. Well have they been com- 



PANORAMA FROM THE TOWER OF COMA RES. 75 

pared by one of their poets to so many pearls set in a bed 
of emeralds. 

The airy palace, with its tall white towers and long 
arcades, which breasts yon mountain, among pompous 
groves and hanging gardens, is the Generalife, a summer 
palace of the Moorish kings, to which they resorted dur- 
ing the sultry months to enjoy a still more breezy region 
than that of the Alhambra. The naked summit of the 
height above it, where you behold some shapeless ruins, is 
the Seat of the Moor, so called from having been a retreat 
of the unfortunate Boabdil during the time of an insurrec- 
tion, where he seated himself, and looked down mournfully 
upon his rebellious city. 

A murmuring sound of water now and then rises from 
the valley. It is from the aqueduct of yon Moorish mill, 
nearly at the foot of the hill. The avenue of trees beyond 
is the Alameda, along the bank of the Darro ; a favorite 
resort in evenings, and a rendezvous of lovers in the sum- 
mer nights, when the guitar may be heard at a late hour 
from the benches along its walks. At present you see 
none but a few loitering monks there, and a group of water- 
carriers. The latter are burdened with water-jars of ancient 
Oriental construction, such as were used by the Moors. 
They have been filled at the cold and limpid spring called 
the fountain of Avellanos. Yon mountain path leads to 
the fountain, a favorite resort of Moslems as well as Chris- 
tians ; for this is said to be the "Fountain of Tears," cele- 
brated in the histories and romances of the Moors. 

You start ! 'tis nothing but a hawk that we have fright- 
ened from his nest. This old tower is a complete breeding- 
place for vagrant birds ; the swallow and martlet abound 

rendezvous {j-eu'-Je-voo) : a place for met.-ting. 



76 THE ALHAMBRA. 

in every chink and cranny, and circle about it the whole 
day long ; while at night, when all other birds have gone 
to rest, the moping owl comes out of its lurking-place, and 
utters its boding cry from the battlements. See how the 
hawk we have dislodged sweeps away below us, skimming 
over the tops of the trees, and sailing up to the ruins above 
the Generalife ! 

I see you raise your eyes to the snowy summit of yon 
pile of mountains, shining like a white summer cloud in 
the blue sky. It is the Sierra Nevada, the pride and de- 
light of Granada ; the source of her cooling breezes and 
perpetual verdure ; of her gushing fountains and perennial 
streams. It is this glorious pile of mountains which gives 
to Granada that combination of delights so rare in a 
southern city, — the fresh vegetation and temperate airs 
of a northern climate, with the vivifying ardor of a tropical 
sun, and the cloudless azure of a southern sky. It is this 
aerial treasury of snow, which, melting in proportion to the 
increase of the summer heat, sends down rivulets and 
streams through every glen and gorge of the Alpuxarras, 
diffusing emerald verdure and fertility throughout a chain 
of happy and sequestered valleys. 

Those mountains may be well called the glory of Granada. 
They dominate the whole extent of Andalusia, and may be 
seen from its most distant parts. The muleteer hails 
them, as he views their frosty peaks from the sultry level 
of the plain ; and the Spanish mariner on the deck of his 
bark, far, far off on the bosom of the blue Mediterranean, 
watches them with a pensive eye, thinks of delightful 
Granada, and chants, in low voice, some old romance 
about the Moors. 

See to the south at the foot of those mountains a line 



PANORAMA FROM THE TOWER OF COM A RES. 



77 



of arid hills, down which a long train of mules is slowly 
moving. Here was the closing scene of Moslem domina- 
tion. From the summit of one of those hills the unfortu- 
nate Boabdil cast back his last look upon Granada, and 
gave vent to the agony of his soul. It is the spot famous 
in song and story, " The last sigh of the Moor." 

Further this way these arid hills slope down into the 
luxurious Vega, from which he had just emerged : a bloom- 
ing wilderness of grove and garden, and teeming orchard, 
with the Xenil winding through it in silver links, and feed- 
ing innumerable rills ; which, conducted through ancient 
Moorish channels, maintain the landscape in perpetual 
verdure. Here were the beloved bowers and gardens, and 
rural pavilions, for which the unfortunate Moors fought 
with such desperate valor. The very hovels and rude 
granges, now inhabited by boors, show, by the remains of 
arabesques and other tasteful decorations, that they were 
elegant residences in the days of the Moslems. Behold, 
in the very centre of this eventful plain, a place which in a 
manner links the history of the Old World with that of the 
New. Yon line of walls and towers gleaming in the 
morning sun, is the city of Santa Fe, built by the Catholic 
sovereigns during the siege of Granada, after a conflagra- 
tion had destroyed their camp. It was to these walls 
Columbus was called back by the heroic queen, and within 
them the treaty was concluded which led to the discovery 
of the Western World. Behind yon promontory to the 
west is the bridge of Pinos, renowned for many a bloody 
fight between Moors and Christians. At this bridge the 
messenger overtook Columbus when, despairing of success 

grange : a farm with its house, stables, etc. 



y8 THE ALHAMBRA. 

with the Spanish sovereigns, he was departing to carry his 
project of discovery to the court of France. 

Above the bridge a range of mountains bounds the 
Veo-a to the west, — the ancient barrier between Granada 
and the Christian territories. Among their heights you 
may still discern warrior towns ; their gray walls and bat- 
tlements seeming of a piece with the rocks on which they 
are built. Here and there a solitary watchtower, perched 
on a mountain peak, looks down as it were from the sky 
into the valley on either side. How often have these 
towers given notice, by fire at night or smoke by day, of 
an approaching foe ! It was down a cragged defile of 
these mountains, called the Pass of Lope, that the Chris- 
tian armies descended into the Vega. Round the base of 
yon gray and naked mountain (the mountain of Elvira), 
stretching its bold rocky promontory into the bosom of 
the plain, the invading squadrons would come bursting 
into view, with flaunting banners and clangor of drum and 
trumpet. 

Five hundred years have elapsed since Ismael ben Ferrag, 
a Moorish king of Granada, beheld from this very tower 
an invasion of the kind, and an insulting ravage of the 
Vega; on which occasion he displayed an instance of chiv- 
alrous magnanimity, often witnessed in the Moslem princes ; 
"whose history," says an Arabian writer, "abounds in 
generous actions and noble deeds that will last through all 
succeeding ages, and live forever in the memory of man." 
— But let us sit down on this parapet, and I will relate the 
anecdote. 

It was in the year 13 19, that Ismael ben Ferrag beheld 
from this tower a Christian camp whitening the skirts of 
yon mountain of Elvira. The royal princes, Don Juan and 



PANORAMA FROM THE TOWER OF COMA RES. 



79 



Don Pedro, regents of Castile during the minority of Al- 
phonso XL, had already laid waste the country from 
Alcaudete to Alcala la Real, capturing the castle of Illora, 
and setting fire to its suburbs, and they now carried their 
insulting ravages to the very gates of Granada, defying the 
king to sally forth and give them battle. 

Ismael, though a young and intrepid prince, hesitated 
to accept the challenge. He had not sufficient force at 
hand, and awaited the arrival of troops summoned from 
the neighboring towns. The Christian princes, mistaking 
his motives, gave up all hope of drawing him forth, and 
having glutted themselves with ravage, struck their tents 
and began their homeward march. Don Pedro led the 
van, and Don Juan brought up the rear, but their march 
was confused and irregular, the army being greatly encum- 
bered by the spoils and captives they had taken. 

By this time King Ismael had received his expected 
resources, and putting them under the command of Osmyn, 
one of the bravest of his generals, sent them forth in hot 
pursuit of the enemy. The Christians were overtaken in 
the defiles of the mountains. A panic seized them ; they 
were completely routed, and driven with great slaughter 
across the borders. Both of the princes lost their lives. 
The body of Don Pedro was carried off by his soldiers, but 
that of Don Juan was lost in the darkness of the night. 
His son wrote to the Moorish king, entreating that the 
body of his father might be sought and honorably treated. 
Ismael forgot in a moment that Don Juan was an enemy, 
who had carried ravage and insult to the very gate of his 

re'-gent: one who governs a kingdom in the minority, absence or disa- 
bihty of the sovereign. 

van : the front of an army. 



8o THE ALHAMBRA. 

capital ; he only thought of him as a gallant cavalier and 
a royal prince. By his command diligent search was made 
for the body. It was found in a ravine and brought to 
Granada. There Ismael caused it to be laid out in state 
on a lofty bier, surrounded by torches and tapers, in one 
of these halls of the Alhambra. Osmyn and other of the 
noblest cavaliers were appointed as a guard of honor, and 
the Christian captives were assembled to pray around it. 

In the meantime, Ismael wrote to the son of Prince 
Juan to send a convoy for the body, assuring him it should 
be faithfully delivered up. In due time, a band of Chris- 
tian cavaliers arrived for the purpose. They were honor- 
ably received and entertained by Ismael, and, on their 
departure with the body, the guard of honor of Moslem 
cavaliers escorted the funeral train to the frontier. 



THE BALCONY. ■ 8 1 



THE BALCONY. 



I HAVE spoken of a balcony of the central window of 
the Hall of Ambassadors. It served as a kind of observa- 
tory, where I used often to take my seat, and consider not 
merely the heaven above but the earth beneath. Besides 
the magnificent prospect which it commanded of moun- 
tain, valley, and plain, there was a little busy scene of 
human life laid open to inspection immediately below. 
At the foot of the hill was a public walk, which, though 
not so fashionable as the more modern and splendid prom- 
enade of the Xenil, still boasted a varied and picturesque 
concourse. Hither resorted the small gentry of the sub- 
urbs, together with the beaux and belles of the lower 
classes, in their Andalusian dresses ; swaggering smug- 
glers, and sometimes half-muffled and mysterious loungers 
of the higher ranks. 

It was a moving picture of Spanish life and character, 
which I delighted to study ; and as the astronomer has his 
grand telescope with which to sweep the skies, and, as it 
were, bring the stars nearer for his inspection, so I had a 
smaller one, of pocket size, for the use of my observatory, 
with which I could sweep the regions below, and bring the 
countenances of the motley groups so close as almost, at 
times, to make me think I could divine their conversation 
by the play and expression of their features. I was thus, 
in a manner, an invisible observer, and, without quitting 



82 THE ALHAMBRA. 

my solitude, could throw myself in an instant into the 
midst of society, — a rare advantage to one of somewhat 
shy and quiet habits, and fond, like myself, of observing 
the drama of life without becoming an actor in the scene. 

There was a considerable suburb lying below the Alham- 
bra, filling the narrow gorge of the valley, and extending 
up the opposite hill of the Albaycin. Many of the houses 
were built in the Moorish style, round courts, cooled by 
fountains and open to the sky ; and as the inhabitants 
passed much of their time in these courts, and on the ter- 
raced roofs during the summer season, it follows that many 
a glance at their domestic life might be obtained by an 
aerial spectator like myself, who could look down on them 
from the clouds. 

I occasionally amused myself with noting from this bal- 
cony the gradual changes of the scenes below, according 
to the different stages of the day. 

Scarce has the gray dawn streaked the sky, and the 
earliest cock crowed from the cottages of the hill-side, 
when the suburbs give sign of reviving animation ; for the 
fresh hours of dawning are precious in the summer season 
in a sultry climate. All are anxious to get the start of the 
sun, in the business of the day. The muleteer drives forth 
his loaded train for the journey ; the traveller slings his 
carbine behind his saddle, and mounts his steed at the 
gate of the hostel ; the brown peasant from the country 
urges forward his loitering beasts, laden with panniers of 
sunny fruit and fresh dewy vegetables, for already the 
thrifty housewives are hastening to the market. 

The sun is up and sparkles along the valley, tipping the 

pan'-nier : a wicker basket for carrying fruit and vegetables on a horse or 
mule. 



THE BALCONY. ^^t 

transparent foliage of the groves. The matin bells re- 
sound melodiously through the pure, bright air, announc- 
ing the hour of devotion. The muleteer halts his bur- 
dened animals before the chapel, thrusts his staff through 
his belt behind, and enters with hat in hand, smoothing 
his coal-black hair, to put up a prayer for a prosperous 
wayfaring across the sierra. 

As the morning advances, the din of labor augments on 
every side ; the streets are thronged with man, and steed, 
and beast of burden, and there is a hum and murmur, like 
the surges of the ocean. As the sun ascends to his merid- 
ian, the hum and bustle gradually decline ; at the height 
of noon there is a pause. The panting city sinks into las- 
situde, and for several hours there is a general repose. 
The windows are closed, the curtains drawn, the inhabi- 
tants retired into the coolest recesses of their mansions ; 
the brawny porter lies stretched on the pavement beside 
his burden ; the peasant and the laborer sleep beneath the 
trees of the promenade, lulled by the sultry chirping of the 
locust. The streets are deserted, except by the water- 
carrier, who refreshes the ear by proclaiming the merits of 
his sparkling beverage, "colder than the mountain snow." 

As the sun declines, there is again a gradual reviving, 
and when the vesper bell rings out his sinking knell, all 
nature seems to rejoice that the tyrant of the day has 
fallen. Now begins the bustle of enjoyment, when the 
citizens pour forth to breathe the evening air, and revel 
away the brief twilight in the walks and gardens of the 
Darro and Xenil. 

As night closes, the capricious scene assumes new fea- 

mat'-in bell the bell for morning prayer. 
ves'-per bell : the bell for evening prayer. 



84 THE ALHAMBRA. 

tures. Light after light gradually twinkles forth ; here a 
taper from a balconied window ; . there a votive lamp before 
the image of a Saint. Thus, by degrees, the city emerges 
from the pervading gloom, and sparkles with scattered 
lights, like the starry firmament. Now break forth from 
court and garden, and street and lane, the tinkling of 
innumerable guitars, and the clicking of castanets ; blend- 
ing, at this lofty height, in a faint but general concert. 

I was one evening seated in the balcony, enjoying the 
light breeze that came rustling along the side of the hill, 
among the tree-tops, when my humble historiographer 
Mateo, who was at my elbow, pointed out a spacious 
house, in an obscure street of the Albaycin, about which 
he related, as nearly as I can recollect, the following 
anecdote. 

vo'-tive : given by vow. 



THE ADVENTURE OF THE MASON. 85 



THE ADVENTURE OF THE MASON. 



"There was once upon a time a poor mason, or brick- 
layer, in Granada, who kept all the saints' days and holi- 
days, and yet, with all his devotion, he grew poorer and 
poorer, and could scarcely earn bread for his numerous 
family. One night he was roused from his first sleep by 
a knocking at his door. He opened it, and beheld before 
him a tall, meagre, cadaverous-looking person. 

"'Hark ye, honest friend!' said the stranger; *I have 
observed that you are a good Christian, and one to be 
trusted ; will you undertake a job this very night .-'' 

" * With all my heart, Seiior, on condition that I am paid 
accordingly.' 

" 'That you shall be ; but you must suffer yourself to be 
blindfolded.' 

" To this the mason made no objection. So, being hood- 
winked, he was led by the stranger through various rough 
lanes and winding passages, until they stopped before the 
portal of a house. The stranger then applied a key, turned 
a creaking lock, and opened what sounded like a ponderous 
door. They entered, the door was closed and bolted, and 
the mason was conducted through an echoing corridor and 
a spacious hall to an interior part of the building. Here 

ca-dav'-er-ous : pale, ghastly, having the appearance of a dead body. 
Senor {seyn^yor) : Sir. 



86 THE ALHAMBRA. 

the bandage was removed from his eyes, and he found 
himself in a court, dimly lighted by a single lamp. In the 
centre was the dry basin of an old Moorish fountain, under 
which the stranger requested him to form a small vault, 
bricks and mortar being at hand for the purpose. He ac- 
cordingly worked all night, but without finishing the job. 
Just before daybreak the stranger put a piece of gold into 
his hand, and having again blindfolded him, conducted him 
back to his dwelling. 

"'Are you willing,' said he, 'to return and complete 
your work ? ' 

" ' Gladly, Senor, provided I am so well paid.' 

" 'Well, then, to-morrow at midnight I will call again.' 

"He did so, and the vault was completed. 

'" Now,' said the stranger, 'you must help me to bring 
forth the bodies that are to be buried in this vault.' 

"The poor mason's hair rose on his head at these words : 
he followed the stranger, with trembling steps, into a 
retired chamber of the mansion, expecting to behold some 
ghastly spectacle of death, but was relieved on perceiving 
three or four portly jars standing in one corner. They 
were evidently full of money, and it was with great labor 
that he and the stranger carried them forth and consigned 
them to their tomb. The vault was then closed, the pave- 
ment replaced, and all traces of the work were obliterated. 
The mason was again hoodwinked and led forth by a route 
different from that by which he had come. After they 
had wandered for a long time through a perplexed maze of 
lanes and alleys, they halted. The stranger then put two 
pieces of gold into his hand: 'Wait here,' said he, 'until 
you hear the cathedral bell toll for matins. If you presume 

mat'-ins s morning prayers. 



THE ADVENTURE OF THE MASON. 87 

to uncover your eyes before that time, evil will befall you ' : 
so saying, he departed. The mason waited faithfully, amus- 
ing himself by weighing the gold pieces in his hand, and 
clinking them against each other. The moment the cathe- 
dral bell rang its matin peal, he uncovered his eyes, and 
found himself on the banks of the Xenil ; whence he made 
the best of his way home, and revelled with his family for 
a whole fortnight on the profits of his two nights' work ; 
after which he was as poor as ever. 

" He continued to work a little, and keep saints* days 
and holidays, from year to year, while his family grew up 
as gaunt and ragged as a crew of gipsies. As he was 
seated one evening at the door of his hovel, he was 
accosted by a rich old curmudgeon, who was noted for 
owning many houses, and being a griping landlord. The 
man of money eyed him for a moment from beneath a 
pair of anxious shagged eyebrows. 

"*I am told, friend, that you are very poor.' 

" ' There is no denying the fact, Senor, — it speaks for 
itself.' 

"'I presume, then, that you will be glad of a job, and 
will work cheap.' 

'"As cheap, my master, as any mason in Granada.' 

" ' That's what I want. I have an old house fallen 
into decay, which costs me more money than it is worth 
to keep it in repair, for nobody will live in it ; so I must 
contrive to patch it up and keep it together at as small 
expense ac possible.' 

" The mason was accordingly conducted to a large de- 
serted house that seemed going to ruin. Passing through 
several empty halls and chambers, he entered an inner 

cur-mud'-geon : a miserly, churlish fellow. 



88 THE ALHAMBRA. 

court, where his eye was caught by an old Moorish foun- 
tain. He paused for a moment, for a dreaming recollec- 
tion of the place came over him. 

"'Pray,' said he, 'who occupied this house formerly.?' 
" * A pest upon him ! ' cried the landlord ; * it was an old 
miser, who cared for nobody but himself. He was said to 
be immensely rich, and, having no relations, it was thought 
he would leave all his treasures to the Church. He died 
suddenly, but nothing could be found but a few ducats 
in a leathern purse. The worst luck has fallen on me, for, 
since his death, the old fellow continues to occupy my 
house without paying rent, and there is no taking the law 
of a dead man. The people pretend to hear the clinking 
of gold all night in the chamber where the old miser slept, 
as if he were counting over his money, and sometimes a 
groanins and moaning about the court. Whether true 
or false, these stories have brought a bad name on my 
house, and not a tenant will remain in it.' 

" ' Enough,' said the mason sturdily : 'let me live in your 
house rent-free until some better tenant present, and I will 
engage to put it in repair, and to quiet the troubled spirit 
that disturbs it. I am a good Christian and a poor man, 
and am not to be daunted by the Devil himself, even 
though he should come in the shape of a big bag- of 



money 



" The offer of the honest mason was gladly accepted ; 
he moved with his family into the house, and fulfilled all 
his engagements. By little and little he restored it to 
its former state ; the clinking of gold was no more heard 
at night in the chamber of the defunct miser, but began 

duc'-at : a coin of gold or silver, of several countries of Europe, issued in 
the dominions of a duke. 



THE ADVENTURE OF THE MASON. 



89 



to be heard by day in the pockt^t of the living mason. 
In a word, he increased rapidly in wealth, to the admi- 
ration of all his neighbors, became one of the richest men 
in Granada, and never revealed the secret of the vault 
until on his death-bed to his son and heir." 



QO THE ALHAMBRA. 



THE COURT OF LIONS. 



The peculiar charm of this old dreamy palace is its 
power of calling up vague reveries and picturings of the 
past, and thus clothing naked realities with the illusions 
of the memory and the imagination. As I delight to walk 
in these "vain shadows," I am prone to seek those parts 
of the Alhambra which are most favorable to this phan- 
tasmagoria of the mind ; and none are more so than the 
Court of Lions, and its surrounding halls. Here the hand 
of time has fallen the lightest, and the traces of Moorish ele- 
gance and splendor exist in almost their original brilliancy. 
Earthquakes have shaken the foundations of this pile, and 
rent its rudest towers ; yet see ! not one of those slender 
columns has been displaced, not an arch of that light and 
fragile colonnade given way, and all the fairy fretwork of 
these domes, apparently as unsubstantial as the crystal 
fabrics of a morning's frost, exist after the lapse of cen- 
turies, almost as fresh as if from the hand of the Moslem 
artist. I write in the midst of these mementos of the past, 
in the fresh hour of early morning. Everything here ap- 
pears calculated to inspire kind and happy feelings, for 
everything is delicate and beautiful. Through the ample 
and fretted arch of the portal I behold the Court of Lions, 
with brilliant sunshine gleaming along its colonnades and 

phan-tas-ma-go'-ri-a : an exhibition of shadows thrown upon a flat sur- 
face by a magic lantern; hence an illusive image or fancy. 



THE COURT OF LIONS. 9 1 

sparkling in its fountains. The lively swallow dives into 
the court, and, rising with a surge, darts away twittering 
over the roofs ; the busy bee toils humming among the 
flower-beds ; and painted butterflies hover from plant to 
plant, and flutter up and sport with each other in the 
sunny air. 

He, however, who would behold this scene under an 
aspect more in unison with its fortunes, let him come 
when the shadows of evening temper the brightness of 
the court, and throw a gloom into the surrounding halls. 
Then nothing can be more serenely melancholy, or more 
in harmony with the tale of departed grandeur. 

At such times I am apt to seek the Hall of Justice, 
whose deep shadowy arcades extend across the upper 
end of the court. Here was performed, in presence of 
Ferdinand and Isabella and their triumphant court, the 
pompous ceremonial of high mass, on taking possession 
of the Alhambra. The very cross is still to be seen upon 
the wall, where the altar was erected, and where officiated 
the Grand Cardinal of Spain, and others of the highest 
religious dignitaries of the land. I picture to myself the 
scene when this place was filled with the conquering host, 
that mixture of mitred prelate and shaven monk, and steel- 
clad knight and silken courtier ; when religious standards 
were mingled with proud armorial ensigns and the banners 
of the haughty chiefs of Spain, and flaunted in triumph 
through these Moslem halls. I picture to myself Colum- 
bus, the future discoverer of a world, taking his modest 
stand in a remote corner, the humble and neglected spec- 
tator of the pageant. I see in imagination the Catholic 

ar-mo'ri-al en'-signs : flags bearing coats of arms. See note 7. 
pag'eant : a pompous show or spectacle of entertainment. 



92 THE ALHAMBRA. 

sovereigns prostrating themselves before tlie altar, and 
pouring forth thanks for their victory ; while the vaults 
resound with sacred minstrelsy, and the deep-toned Te 
Deum. 

The transient illusion is over, — the pageant melts from 
the fancy, — monarch, priest, and warrior return into obliv- 
ion with the poor Moslems over whom they exulted. The 
hall of their triumph is waste and desolate. The bat flits 
about its twilight vault, and the owl hoots from the neigh- 
boring tower of Comares. 

Entering the Court of the Lions a few evenings since, I 
was almost startled at beholding a turbaned Moor quietly 
seated near the fountain. For a moment one of the fic- 
tions of the place seemed realized : an enchanted Moor 
had broken the spell of centuries, and become visible. He 
proved, however, to be a mere ordinary mortal : a native 
of Barbary, who had a shop in Granada, where he sold 
rhubarb, trinkets, and perfumes. As he spoke Spanish 
fluently, I was enabled to hold conversation with him, and 
found him shrewd and intelligent. He told me that he 
came up the hill occasionally in the summer, to pass a part 
of the day in the Alhambra, which reminded him of the 
old palaces in Barbary, being built and adorned in similar 
style, though with more magnificence. 

As we walked about the palace, he pointed out several of 
the Arabic inscriptions, as possessing much poetic beauty. 

"Ah, senor," said he, "when the Moors held Granada, 
they were a gayer people than they are nowadays. They 

Te De'um : an ancient and celebrated Christian hymn, often sung on 
occasions of special thanksgiving. 

tur'ban : the usual head-dress of Orientals. It consists of a close-fitting 
cap, with a scarf or shawl wound about it. 



THE COURT OF LIONS. 



93 



thought only of love, music, and poetry. They made stanzas 
upon every occasion, and set them all to music. He who 
could make the best verses, and she who had the most 
tuneful voice, might be sure of favor and preferment. In 
those days if any one asked for bread, the reply was, make 
me a couplet ; and the poorest beggar, if he begged in 
rhyme, would often be rewarded with a piece of gold." 

"And is the popular feeling for poetry," said I, "entirely 
lost among you .''" 

" By no means, sefior ; the people of Barbary, even those 
of the lower classes, still make couplets, and good ones too, 
as in old times ; but talent is not rewarded as it was then : 
the rich prefer the jingle of their gold to the sound of 
poetry or music." 

As he was talking, his eye caught one of the inscrip- 
tions which foretold perpetuity to the power and glory of 
the Moslem monarchs, the masters of this pile. He shook 
his head, and shrugged his shoulders, as he interpreted it. 
"Such might have been the case," said he ; "the Moslems 
might still have been reigning in the Alhambra, had not 
Boabdil been a traitor, and given up his capital to the 
Christians. The Spanish monarchs would never have been 
able to conquer it by open force." 

I endeavored to vindicate the memory of the unlucky 
Boabdil from this aspersion, and to show that the dissen- 
sions which led to the downfall of the Moorish throne 
originated in the cruelty of his tiger-hearted father; but 
the Moor would admit of no palliation. 

" Muley Abul Hassan," said he. " might have been 

stan'-za: a number of lines or verses regularly adjusted to each other, 
and properly ending in a full point or pause. 
coup'let: two lines that rhyme. 



94 THE ALHAMBRA. 

cruel ; but he was brave, vigilant, and patriotic. Had he 
been properly seconded, Granada would still have been 
ours ; but his son Boabdil thwarted his plans, crippled 
his power, sowed treason in his palace and dissension in 
his camp. May the curse of God light upon him for his 
treachery ! " With these words the Moor left the Al- 
hambra. 

The indignation of my turbaned companion agrees with 
an anecdote related by a friend who, in the course of a 
tour in Barbary, had an interview with the Pacha of Tetuan. 
The Moorish governor was particular in his inquiries about 
Spain, and especially concerning the favored region of An- 
dalusia, the delights of Granada, and the remains of its 
royal palace. The replies awakened all those fond recol- 
lections, so deeply cherished by the Moors, of the power 
and splendor of their ancient empire in Spain. Turning 
to his Moslem attendants, the Pacha stroked his beard, 
and broke forth in passionate lamentations; that such a 
sceptre should have fallen from the sway of true believers. 
He consoled himself, however, with the persuasion that 
the power and prosperity of the Spanish nation were on the 
decline ; that a time would come when the Moors would 
conquer their rightful domains ; and that the day was 
perhaps not far distant when Mohammedan worship would 
again be offered up in the Mosque of Cordova, and a 
Mohammedan prince sit on his throne in the Alhambra. 

Such is the general aspiration and belief among the 
Moors of Barbary ; who consider Spain, or Andaluz, as it 
was anciently called, their rightful heritage, of which they 
have been despoiled by treachery and violence. These 
ideas are fostered and perpetuated by the descendants of 

Pa-cha' : a Moslem governor of a province. 



THE COURT OF LIONS. 



95 



the exiled Moors of Granada, scattered among the cities of 
Barbary. Several of these reside in Tetuan, preserving 
their ancient names, and refraining from nitermarriage 
with any families who cannot claim the same high origin. 
Their vaunted lineage is regarded with a degree of popular 
deference rarely shown in Mohammedan communities to 
any hereditary distinction, excepting in the royal line. 

These families, it is said, continue to sigh after the 
terrestrial paradise of their ancestors, and to put up prayers 
in their mosques on Fridays, imploring Allah to hasten the 
time when Granada shall be restored to the faithful : an 
event to which they look forward as fondly and confidently 
as did the Christian crusaders to the recovery of the Holy 
Sepulchre. Nay, it is added, that some of them retain the 
ancient maps and deeds of the estates and gardens of their 
ancesters of Granada, and even the keys of the houses ; 
holding them as evidences of their hereditary claims, to be 
produced at the anticipated day of restoration. 

lin'-e-age: descent in a line from a common ancestor. 

cru-sad'er : one who took part in the military expeditions sent out by the 
different Christian nations, during the Middle Ages, for the purpose of rescuing 
the Holy Land, Palestine, from its Mchammedan possessors. 



96 THE ALHAMBRA. 



LOCAL TRADITIONS. 



The common people of Spain have an Oriental passion 
for story-telling, and are fond of the marvellous. They 
will gather round the doors of their cottages in summer 
evenings, or in the great cavernous chimney-corners in the 
winter, and listen with insatiable delight to miraculous 
legends of saints, perilous adventures of travellers, and 
daring exploits of robbers and smugglers. The wild and 
solitary character of the country, the imperfect diffusion of 
knowledge, the scarceness of general topics of conversation, 
and the romantic adventurous life that every one leads in a 
land where travelling is yet in its primitive state, all con- 
tribute to cherish this love of oral narration, and to produce 
a strong infusion of the extravagant and incredible. There 
is no theme, however, more prevalent and popular than 
that of treasures buried by the Moors ; it pervades the 
whole country. In traversing the wild sierras, the scenes 
of ancient foray and exploit, you cannot see a Moorish 
watch-tower perched among the cliffs, or beetling above 
its rock-built village, but your muleteer, on being closely 
questioned, will suspend the smoking of his cigarette to 
tell some tale of Moslem gold buried beneath its founda- 
tions ; nor is there a ruined fortress in a city but has its 
golden tradition, handed down from generation to genera- 
tion among the poor people of the neighborhood. 

These, like most popular fictions, have sprung from some 



LOCAL TRADITIONS. 



97 



scanty groundwork of fact. During the wars between 
Moor and Christian, which distracted this country for 
centuries, towns and castles were liable frequently and 
suddenly to change owners, and the inhabitants, during 
sieges and assaults, were fain to bury their money and 
jewels in the earth, or hide them in vaults and wells, as is 
often done at the present day in the despotic and belligerent 
countries of the East. At the time of the expulsion of the 
Moors also, many of them concealed their most precious 
effects, hoping that their exile would be but temporary, 
and that they would be enabled to return and retrieve their 
treasures at some future day. It is certain that from time 
to time hoards of gold and silver coin have been acciden- 
tally digged up, after a lapse of centuries, from among the 
ruins of Moorish fortresses and habitations ; and it requires 
but a few facts of the kind to give birth to a thousand 
fictions. 

The hidden wealth is always laid under magic spell, and 
secured by a charm. Sometimes it is guarded by uncouth 
monsters or fiery dragons, sometimes by enchanted Moors, 
who sit by it in armor, with drawn swords, but motionless 
as statues, maintaining a sleepless watch for ages. 

The Alhambra of course, from the peculiar circumstances 
of its history, is a strong-hold for popular fictions of the 
kind ; and various relics, digged up from time to time, 
have contributed to strengthen them. At one time an 
earthen vessel was found containing Moorish coins and 
the skeleton of a cock, which, according to the opinion 
of certain shrewd inspectors, must have been buried alive. 
At another time a vessel was dug up containing a great 
beetle of baked clay, covered with Arabic inscriptions, 

charm : enchantment. 



q8 the alhambra. 

which was pronounced a prodigious amulet of occult vir- 
tues. In this way the wits of the ragged brood who 
inhabit the Alhambra have been set wool-gathering, until 
there is not a hall, nor tower, nor vault, of the old fortress, 
that has not been made the scene of some marvellous 
tradition. Having, I trust, in the preceding papers made 
the reader in some degree familiar with the localities of 
the Alhambra, I shall now launch out more largely into 
the wonderful legends connected with it, and which I have 
diligently wrought into shape and form, from various 
legendary scraps and hints picked up in the course of my 
walks — in the same manner that an antiquary works out 
a regular historical document from a few scattered letters 
of an almost defaced inscription. 

If anything in these legends should shock the faith of 
the over-scrupulous reader, he must remember the nature 
of the place, and make due allowances. He must not 
expect here the same laws of probability that govern 
commonplace scenes and every-day life ; he must remem- 
ber that he treads the halls of an enchanted palace, and 
that all is " haunted*ground." 

am'-u-let : an object supposed to protect its possessor from evil. 
oc-cult' : secret, hidden. 



THE HOUSE OF THE WEATHERCOCK. 99 



THE HOUSE OF THE WEATHERCOCK. 



On the brow of the lofty hill of the Albaycin, the high- 
est part of Granada, and which rises from the narrow 
valley of the Darro, directly opposite to the Alhambra, 
stands all that is left of what was once a royal palace of 
the Moors. It has, in fact, fallen into such obscurity, 
that it cost me much trouble to find it, though aided in 
my researches by the sagacious and all-knowing Mateo 
Ximenes. This edifice has borne for centuries the name 
of " The House of the Weathercock," from a bronze figure 
on one of its turrets, in ancient times, of a warrior on 
horseback, and turning with every breeze. This weather- 
cock was considered by the Moslems of Granada a porten- 
tous talisman. According to some traditions, it bore an 
Arabic inscription, which has been rendered into English : 

In this way, says Aben Habuz the Wise, 
Andaluz guards against surprise. 

This Aben Habuz, according to some of the old Moorish 
chronicles, was a captain in the invading army of Taric, 
one of the conquerors of Spain, who left him as Gov- 
ernor of Granada. He is supposed to have intended this 
effigy as a perpetual warning to the Moslems of Andaluz, 

tal'-is-man : a chann; something that produces extraordinary effects, 
ef fi-gy : an image or figure of a person. 



lOO THE ALHAMBRA. 

that, surrounded by foes, their safety depended upon their 
being always on their guard and ready for the field. 

Another version of this portentous inscription is given 
by a Moslem historian, on the authority of Sidi Hasan, a 
faquir who flourished about the time of Ferdinand and 
Isabella, and who was present at the taking down of the 
weathercock, when the old palace was undergoing re- 
pairs. 

"I saw it," says the venerable faquir, "with my own 
eyes: it had the following inscription in verse : 

"'The palace at fair Granada presents a talisman.' 

"'The horseman, though a solid body, turns with every 
wind.' 

" * This to a wise man reveals a mystery. In a little 
while comes a calamity to ruin both the palace and its 
owner.' " 

In effect it was not long after this meddling with the 
portentous weathercock that the following event occurred. 
As old Muley Abul Hasan, the king of Granada, was 
seated under a sumptuous pavilion, reviewing his troops, 
who paraded before him in armor of polished steel and 
gorgeous silken robes, mounted on fleet steeds, and 
equipped with swords, spears, and shields embossed with 
gold and silver, — suddenly a tempest was seen hurrying 
from the southwest. In a little while black clouds over- 
shadowed the heavens and burst forth with a deluge of 
rain. Torrents came roaring down from the mountains, 
bringing with them rocks and trees ; the Darro overflowed 
its banks ; mills were swept away, bridges destroyed, gar- 
dens laid waste ; the inundation rushed into the city, 
undermining houses, drowning their inhabitants, and over- 
faquir (^fa'-kir) : a Mohammedan begging monk. 



THE HOUSE OF THE WEATHERCOCK. lOI 

flowing even the square of the Great Mosque. The peo- 
ple rushed in affright to the mosques to implore the mercy 
of Allah, regarding this uproar of the elements as the 
harbinger of dreadful calamities ; and, indeed, according 
to an Arabian historian, it was but a type and prelude of 
the direful war which ended in the downfall of the Moslem 
kingdom of Granada. 

I have thus given historic authorities sufficient to show 
the portentous mysteries connected with the House of the 
Weathercock, and its talismanic horseman. 

I now proceed to relate still more surprising things 
about Aben Habuz and his palace ; for the truth of which, 
should any doubt be entertained, I refer the dubious reader 
to Mateo Ximenes and his fellow-historiographers of the 
Alhambra. 

Mosque {mosk) : a Mohammedan temple or place of worship. 



102 THE ALHAMBRA. 



LEGEND OF THE ARABIAN ASTROLOGER. 



In old times, many hundred years ago, there was a 
Moorish king named Aben Habuz, who reigned over the 
kingdom of Granada. He was a retired conqueror, that is 
to say, one who, having in his more youthful days led a 
life of constant foray and depredation, now that he was 
grown feeble and superannuated, " languished for repose," 
and desired nothing more than to live at peace with all the 
world, to husband his laurels, and to enjoy in quiet the 
possessions he had wrested from his neighbors. 

It so happened, however, that this most reasonable and 
pacific old monarch had young rivals to deal with ; princes 
full of his early passion for fame and fighting, and who 
were disposed to call him to account for the scores he had 
run up with their fathers. Certain distant districts of his 
ov/n territories, also, which during the days of his vigor he 
had treated with a high hand, were prone, now that he lan- 
guished for repose, to rise in rebellion and threaten to 
invest him in his capital. Thus he had foes on every side ; 
and as Granada is surrounded by wild and craggy moun- 
tains, which hide the approach of an enemy, the unfor- 
tunate Aben Habuz was kept in a constant state of 
vigilance and alarm, not knowing in what quarter hostilities 
might break out." 

for'-ay : any irregular incursion for warfare or spoils. 

in-vest' : to surround with troops so as to prevent succor or escape. 



LEGEND OF THE ARABIAN ASTROLOGER. 103 

It was in vain that he built watch-towers on the moun- 
tains, and stationed guards at every pass with orders to 
make fires by night and smoke by day, on the approach of 
an enemy. His alert foes, baffling every precaution, would 
break out of some unthought-of defile, ravage his lands 
beneath his very nose, and then make off with prisoners and 
booty to the mountains. Was ever peaceable and retired 
conqueror in a more uncomfortable predicament ? 

While Aben Habuz was harassed by these perplexities 
and molestations, an ancient Arabian physician arrived at 
his court. His gray beard descended to his girdle, and he 
had every mark of extreme age, yet he had travelled almost 
the whole way from Egypt on foot, with no other aid than 
a staff, marked with hieroglyphics. His fame had preceded 
him. His name was Ibrahim ; he was said to have lived 
ever since the days of Mahomet, and to be son of Abu 
Ayub, the last of the companions of the Prophet. He 
had, when a child, followed the conquering army of Amru 
into Egypt, where he had remained many years studying 
the dark sciences, and particularly magic, among the 
Egyptian priests. 

It was, moreover, said that he had found out the secret 
of prolonging life, by means of which he had arrived to the 
great age of upwards of two centuries, though, as he did 
not discover the secret until well stricken in years, he 
could only perpetuate his gray hairs and wrinkles. 

This wonderful old man was honorably entertained 
by the king ; who, like most superannuated monarchs, 
began to take physicians into great favor. He would 

hi-er-o-glyph'-ic : the picture-writing of the ancient Egyptian priests. 
mag'-ic: enchantment; a pretended science of Eastern nations, by which 
it is claimed that the power of spirits is brought into action. 



I04 THE ALHAMBRA. 

have assigned him an apartment in his palace, but the 
astrologer preferred a cave in the side of the hill which 
rises above the city of Granada, being the same on which 
the Alhambra has since been built. He caused the cave 
to be enlarged so as to form a spacious and lofty hall, with 
a circular hole at the top, through which, as through a 
well, he could see the heavens and behold the stars even 
at mid-day. The walls of this hall were covered with 
Egyptian hieroglyphics with cabalistic symbols, and with 
the figures of the stars in their signs. This hall he 
furnished with many implements, fabricated under his 
directions by cunning artificers of Granada, but the occult 
properties of which were known only to himself. 

In a little while the sage Ibrahim became the bosom 
counsellor of the king, who applied to him for advice in 
every emergency. Aben Habuz was once inveighing 
against the injustice of his neighbors, and bewailing the 
restless vigilance he had to observe to guard himself 
against their invasions ; when he had finished, the as- 
trologer remained silent for a moment, and then replied, 
" Know, O king, that, when I was in Egypt, I beheld a 
great marvel devised by a pagan priestess of old. On a 
mountain, above the city of Borsa, and overlooking the 
great valley of the Nile, was a figure of a ram, and above 
it a figure of a cock, both of molten brass, and turning 
upon a pivot. Whenever the country was threatened with 
invasion, the ram would turn in the direction of the enemy, 
and the cock would crow ; upon this the inhabitants of the 
city knew of the danger, and of the quarter from which it 
was approaching, and could take timely means to guard 
against it." 

cab-a-lis'-tic: having a hidden meaning or possessing secret powers. 



LEGEND OF THE ARABIAN ASTROLOGER. 105 

" Allah is great ! " exclaimed the pacific Aben Habuz, 
" what a treasure would be such a ram to keep an eye 
upon these mountains around me ; and then such a cock, 
to crow in time of danger ! Allah is great ! how securely 1 
might sleep in my palace with such sentinels on the top !" 

The astrologer waited until the ecstasies of the king had 
subsided, and then proceeded : 

"After the victorious Armu (may he rest in peace !) had 
finished his conquest of Egypt, I remained among the 
priests of the land, studying the rites and ceremonies of 
their idolatrous faith, and seeking to make myself master 
of the hidden knowledge for which they are renowned. I 
was one day seated on the banks of the Nile, conversing 
with an ancient priest, when he pointed to the mighty pyr- 
amids which rose like mountains out of the neighboring 
desert. * All that we can teach thee,' said he, ' is nothing 
to the knowledge locked up in those mighty piles. In the 
centre of the central pyramid is a sepulchral chamber, in 
which is enclosed the mummy of the high-priest who aided 
in rearing that stupendous pile ; and with him is buried a 
wondrous book of knowledge, containing all the secrets of 
magic and art. This book was given to Adam after his 
fall, and was handed down from generation to generation 
to King Solomon the Wise, and by its aid he built the 
Temple of Jerusalem. How it came into the possession 
of the builder of the pyramids is known to Him alone who 
knows all things.' 

" When I heard these words of the Egyptian priest, my 
heart burned to get possession of that book. I could 

ec'-sta-sy: excessive joy; delight. 

mum'-my : a dead body preserved from putrefaction, especially by the 
Egyptian art of embalming. 



I06 THE ALHAMBRA. 

command the services of many of the soldiers of our con- 
quering army, and of a number of the native Egyptians : 
with these I set to work, and pierced the solid mass of 
the pyramid, until, after great toil, I came upon one of 
its interior and hidden passages. Following this up, and 
threading a fearful labyrinth, I penetrated into the very 
heart of the pyramids, even to the sepulchral chamber, 
where the mummy of the high-priest had lain for ages. I 
broke through the outer cases of the mummy, unfolded 
its many wrappers and bandages, and at length found the 
precious volume on its bosom. I seized it with a trem- 
bling hand, and groped my way out of the pyramid, leav- 
ing the mummy in its dark and silent sepulchre, there to 
await the final day of resurrection and judgment." 

" Son of Abu Ayub," exclaimed Aben Habuz, " thou 
hast been a great traveller, and seen marvellous things ; 
but of what avail to me is the secret of the pyramid, and 
the volume of knowledge of the wise Solomon } " 

" This it is, O king ! By the study of that book I am 
instructed in all magic arts, and can command the assist- 
ance of genii to accomplish my plans. The mystery of 
the Talisman of Borsa is therefore familiar to me, and 
such a talisman can I make, nay, one of greater virtues." 

"O wise son of Abu Ayub," cried Aben Habuz, "bet- 
ter were such a talisman than all the watch-towers on the 
hills, and sentinels upon the borders. Give me such a 
safeguard, and the riches of my treasury are at thy com- 
mand." 

lab'-y-rinth : a passage full of intricate turnings and windings, out of 
which one would find it exceedingly difficult to extricate himself. 

Ge'-ni-i (//. of Ge'-ni-ns) : good or evil spirits, supposed to have charge 
over particular places or things. 



LEGEND OF THE ARABIAN ASTROLOGER. 



107 



The astrologer immediately set to work to gratify the 
wishes of the monarch. He caused a great tower to be 
erected upon the top of the royal palace, which stood on 
the brow of the hill of the Albaycin. The tower was built 
of stones brought from Egypt, and taken, it is said, from 
one of the pyramids. In the upper part of the tower was 
a circular hall, with windows looking towards every point 
of the compass, and before each window was a table, on 
which was arranged, as on a chess-board, a mimic army of 
horse and foot, with the effigy of the potentate that ruled 
in that direction, all carved of wood. To each of these 
tables there was a small lance, on which were engraved 
certain characters. This hall was kept constantly closed, 
by a gate of brass, with a great lock of steel, the key 
of which was in possession of the king. 

On the top of the tower was a bronze figure of a Moor- 
ish horseman, fixed on a pivot, with a shield on one arm, 
and his lance elevated perpendicularly. The face of this 
horseman was towards the city, as if keeping guard over 
it ; but if any foe were at hand, the figure would turn in 
that direction, and would level the lance as if for action. 

When this talisman was finished, Aben Habuz was all 
impatient to try its virtues, and longed as ardently for 
an invasion as he had ever sighed after repose. His 
desire was soon gratified. Tidings were brought, early 
one morning, by the sentinel appointed to watch the 
tower, that the face of the bronze horseman was turned 
towards the mountains of Elvira, and that his lance 
pointed directly against the Pass of Lope. 

" Let the drums and trumpets sound to arms, and all 
Granada be put on the alert," said Aben Habuz, 

" O king," said the astrologer, " let not your city be 



I08 THE ALHAMBRA. 

disquieted, nor your warriors called to arms ; we need no 
aid of force to deliver you from your enemies. Dismiss 
your attendants, and let us proceed alone to the secret 
hall of the tower." 

The ancient Aben Habuz mounted the staircase of the 
tower, leaning on the arm of the still more ancient Ibra- 
him. They unlocked the brazen door and entered. The 
window that looked towards the Pass of Lope was open. 
" In this direction," said the astrologer, "lies the danger; 
approach, O king, and behold the mystery of the table." 

King Aben Habuz approached the seeming chess-board, 
on which were arranged the small wooden effigies, when, 
to his surprise, he perceived that they were all in motion. 
The horses pranced and curveted, the warriors brandished 
their weapons, and there was a faint sound of drums and 
trumpets, and the clang of arms, and neighing of steeds ; 
but all no louder, nor more distinct, than the hum of the 
bee, or the summer-fly, in the drowsy ear of him who lies 
at noontide in the shade. 

"Behold, O king," said the astrologer, "a proof that 
thy enemies are even now in the field. They must be 
advancing through yonder mountains, by the Pass of Lope. 
Would you produce a panic and confusion amongst them, 
and cause them to retreat without loss of life, strike these 
effigies with the but-end of this magic lance; would you 
cause bloody feud and carnage, strike with the point." 

A livid streak passed across the countenance of Aben 
Habuz ; he seized the lance with trembling eagerness ; 
his gray beard wagged with exultation as he tottered 
toward the table: "Son of Abu Ayub," exclaimed he, in 
chuckling tone, " I think we will have a little blood ! " 

So saying, he thrust the magic lance into some of the 



LEGEND OF THE ARABIAN ASTROLOGER. 109 

pigmy effigies, and belabored others with the but-end, 
upon which the former fell as dead upon the board, and 
the rest turning upon each other, began, pell-mell, a 
chance-medley fight. 

It was with difficulty the astrologer could stay the hand 
of the most pacific of monarchs, and prevent him from 
absolutely exterminating his foes ; at length he prevailed 
upon him to leave the tower, and to send out scouts to the 
mountains by the Pass of Lope. 

They returned with the intelligence that a Christian 
army had advanced through the heart of the Sierra, 
almost within sight of Granada, where a dissension had 
broken out among them ; they had turned their weapons 
against each other, and after much slaughter had retreated 
over the border. 

Aben Habuz was transported with joy on thus proving 
the efficacy of the talisman. "At length," said he, "I 
shall lead a life of tranquillity, and have all my enemies in 
my power. O wise son of Abu Ayub, what can I bestow 
on thee in reward for such a blessing } " 

" The wants of an old man and a philosopher, O king, 
are few and simple ; grant me but the means of fitting up 
my cave as a suitable hermitage, and I am content," 

" How noble is the moderation of the truly wise ! " 
exclaimed Aben Habuz, secretly pleased at the cheapness 
of the recompense. He summoned his treasurer, and 
bade him dispense whatever sums might be required by 
Ibrahun to complete and furnish his hermitage. 

The astrologer now gave orders to have various cham- 

be-la'-bor: to beat soundly. 

her'-mit-age: the dwelling-place of a hermit, or one who lives apart from 
his fellows. 



no THE ALHAMBRA. 

bers hewn out of the soHd rock, so as to form ranges of 
apartments connected with his astrological hall ; these he 
caused to be furnished with luxurious ottomans and divans, 
and the walls to be hung with the richest silks of Damas- 
cus. " I am an old man," said "he, " and can no longer 
rest my bones on stone couches, and these damp walls 
require covering." 

He had baths too constructed, and provided with all 
kinds of perfumes and aromatic oils. " For a bath," said 
he, "is necessary to counteract the rigidity of age, and to 
restore freshness and suppleness to the frame withered by 
study." 

He caused the apartments to be hung with innumerable 
silver and crystal lamps, which he filled with a fragrant oil 
prepared according to a receipt discovered by him in the 
tombs of Egypt. This oil was perpetual in its natiu'e, and 
diffused a soft radiance like the tempered light of day. 
"The light of the sun," said he, "is too gairish and violent 
for the eyes of an old man, and the light of the lamp is 
more congenial to the studies of a philosopher." 

The treasurer of King Aben Habuz groaned at the sums 
daily demanded to fit up this hermitage, and he carried his 
complaints to the king. The royal word, however, had 
been given ; Aben Habuz Ebrugged his shoulders : " We 
must have patience," said he ; " this old man has taken his 
idea of a philosophic retreat from the interior of the pyra- 
mids, and of the vast ruins of Egypt ; but all things have 
an end, and so will the furnishing of his cavern." 

ot'-to-man : a stuffed seat without a back, originally used in Turkey, 
div-an' : a cushioned seat or couch, especially one fixed to its place, and 
not movable. 

gairish {gar'-ish') : gaudy ; glaring. 



LEGEND OF THE ARABIAN ASTROLOGER. m 

The king was in the right ; the hermitage was at length 
complete, and formed a sumptuous subterranean palace. 

While the philosophic Ibrahim passed his time in his 
hermitage, the pacific Aben Habuz carried on furious cam- 
paigns in effigy in his tower. It was a glorious thing for 
an old man, like himself, of quiet habits, to have war made 
easy, and to be enabled to amuse himself in his chamber 
b\- brushing away whole armies like so many swarms of 
ilies. 

For a time he rioted in the indulgence of his humors, 
and even taunted and insulted his neighbors, to induce 
them to make incursions ; but by degrees they grew wary 
from repeated disasters, until no one ventured to invade 
his territories. For many months the bronze horseman 
remained on the peace establishment, with his lance ele- 
vated in the air ; and the worthy old monarch began to 
repine at the want of his accustomed sport, and to grow 
peevish at his monotonous tranquillity. 

At length, one day, the talismanic horseman veered 
suddenly round, and lowering his lance, made a dead point 
towards the mountains of Guadix. Aben Habuz hastened 
to his tower, but the magic table in that direction remained 
quiet : not a single warrior was in motion. Perplexed at 
the circumstance, he set forth a troop of horse to scour the 
mountains and reconnoitre. They returned after three 
days' absence. 

"We have searched every mountain pass," said they, 
" but not a helm nor spear was stirring. All that we have 
found in the course of our foray, was a Christian damsel of 
surpassing beauty, sleeping at noontide beside a fountain, 
whom we have brought away captive." 

" A damsel of surpassing beauty ! " exclaimed Aben 



1 I 2 THE ALHAMBRA. 

Habuz, his eyes gleaming with animation ; " let her be 
conducted into my presence." 

The beautiful damsel was accordingly conducted into 
his presence. She was arrayed with all the luxury of orna- 
ment that had prevailed among the Gothic Spaniards at 
the time of the Arabian conquest. Pearls of dazzling 
whiteness were entwined with her raven tresses ; and jew- 
els sparkled on her forehead, rivalling the lustre of her 
eyes. Around her neck was a golden chain, to which was 
suspended a silver lyre, which hung by her side. 

The flashes of her dark eye were like sparks of fire on 
the withered yet combustible heart of Aben Habuz. 
" Fairest of women," cried he, " who and what art thou } " 

"The daughter of one of the Gothic princes, who but 
lately ruled over this land. The armies of my father have 
been destroyed, as if by magic, among these mountains ; 
he has been driven into exile, and his daughter is a 
captive." 

" Beware, O king ! " whispered Ibrahim, " this may be 
one of those .northern sorceresses of whom we have heard, 
who assume the most seductive forms to beguile the un- 
wary. Methinks I read witchcraft in her eye, and sor- 
cery in every movement. Doubtless this is the enemy 
pointed out by the talisman." 

" Son of Abu Ayub," replied the king, " thou art a wise 
man, I grant, a conjurer for aught I know ; but thou art 
little versed in the ways of woman. As to this damsel, I 
see no harm in her ; she is fair to look upon, and finds 
favor in my eyes." 

Further remonstrances of the astrologer only provoked 

sor'-cer-ess : a woman who is supposed to exercise magical powers by the 
aid of evil spirits. 



LEGEND OE THE ARABIAN ASTROLOGER. 



113 



a more peremptory reply from the monarch, and they 
parted in high displeasure. The sage shut himself up in 
his hermitage ; ere he departed, however, he gave the king 
one more warning to beware of his dangerous captive. But 
where is the old man in love that will listen to counsel } 
His only study was how to render himself amiable in the 
eyes of the Gothic beauty. He had not youth to recom- 
mend him, it is true, but then he had riches ; and when a 
lover is old, he is generally generous. The shops of 
Granada were ransacked for the most precious merchandise 
of the East ; silks, jewels, precious gems, exquisite perfumes, 
all that Asia and Africa yielded that was rich and rare, 
were lavished upon the princess. All kinds of spectacles 
and festivities were devised for her entertainment ; min- 
strelsy, dancing, tournaments, bull-fights ; — Granada for a 
time was a scene of perpetual pageant. The Gothic prin- 
cess regarded all this splendor with the air of one accus- 
tomed to magnificence. She received everything as a 
homage due to her rank, or rather to her beauty ; for beauty 
is more lofty in its exactions even than rank. Nay, she 
seemed to take a secret pleasure in exciting the monarch 
to expenses that made his treasury shrink, and then treat- 
ing his extravagant generosity as a mere matter of course. 
With all his assiduity and munificence, also, the venerable 
lover could not flatter himself that he had made any impres- 
sion on her heart. She never frowned on him, it is true, 
but then she never smiled. Whenever he began to plead 
his love, she struck her silver lyre. There was a mystic 
charm in the sound. In an instant the monarch began to 
nod ; a drowsiness stole over him, and he gradually sank 
into a sleep. 

At length a danger burst on the head of Aben Habuz, 



114 



THE ALHAMBRA. 



against which his talisman yielded him no warning. An 
insurrection broke out in his very capital ; his palace was 
surrounded by an armed rabble, who menaced his life and 
the life of the Christian damsel. A spark of his ancient 
warlike spirit was awakened in the breast of the monarch. 
At the head of a handful of his guards he sallied forth, put 
the rebels to flight, and crushed the insurrection in the 
bud. 

When quiet was again restored, he sought the astrol- 
oger, who still remained shut up in his hermitage. 

Aben Habuz approached him with a conciliatory tone. 
"O wise son of Abu Ayub," said he, "well didst thou pre- 
dict dangers to me from this captive beauty : tell me then, 
thou who art so quick at foreseeing peril, what I should do 
to avert it." 

" Pu.t from thee the infidel damsel who is the cause." 

" Sooner would I part with my kingdom," cried Aben 
Habuz. 

"Thou art in danger of losing both," replied the astrol- 
oger. 

" Be not harsh and angry, O most profound of philoso- 
phers ; consider the double distress of a monarch and a 
lover, and devise some means of protecting me from the 
evils by which I am menaced. I care not for grandeur, I 
care not for power, I languish only for repose ; would that 
I had some quiet retreat where I might take refuge from 
the world, and all its cares, and pomps, and troubles, and 
devote the remainder of my days to tranquillity and love." 

The astrologer regarded him for a moment from under 
his bushy eyebrows. 

" And what wouldst thou give, if I could provide thee 
such a retreat ? " • 



LEGEND OF THE ARABIAN ASTROLOGER. \ \ 5 

" Thou shouldst name thy own reward ; and whatever it 
might be, if within the scope of my power, as my soul 
hveth, it should be thine." 

" Thou hast heard, O king, of the garden of Irem, one of 
the prodigies of Arabia the happy." 

" I have heard of that garden ; it is recorded in the 
Koran, even in the chapter entitled 'The Dawn of Day.* 
I have, moreover, heard marvellous things related of it by 
pilgrims who had been to Mecca ; but I considered them 
wild fables, such as travellers are wont to tell who have 
visited remote countries." 

" Discredit not, O king, the tales of travellers," rejoined 
the astrologer, gravely, " for they contain precious rarities 
of knowledge brought from the ends of the earth. As to 
the palace and garden of Irem, what is generally told of 
them is true ; I have seen them with mine own eyes ; — 
listen to my adventure, for it has a bearing upon the 
object of your request. 

" In my younger days, when a mere Arab of the desert, 
I tended my father's camels. In traversing the desert of 
Aden, one of them strayed from the rest and was lost. I 
searched after it for several days, but in vain, until, 
wearied and faint, I laid myself down at noontide, and 
slept under a palm-tree by the side of a scanty well. 
When I awoke I found myself at the gate of a city. I 
entered, and beheld noble streets, and squares, and market- 
places ; but all were silent and without an inhabitant. I 
wandered on until I came to a sumptuous palace, with a 
garden adorned with fountains and fish-ponds, and groves 
and flowers, and orchards laden with delicious fruit ; but 
still no one was to be seen. Upon which, appalled at this 

Ko'-ran : the Mohammedan Bible. 



Il6 THE ALHAMBRA. 

loneliness, I hastened to depart ; and, after issuing forth at 
the gate of the city, I turned to look upon the place, but it 
was no longer to be seen ; nothing but the silent desert 
extended before my eyes. 

" In the neighborhood I met with an aged dervise, 
learned in the traditions and secrets of the land, and 
related to him what had befallen me. 'This,' said he, 'is 
the far-famed garden of Irem, one of the wonders of the 
desert. It only appears at times to some wanderer like 
thyself, gladdening him with the sight of towers and 
palaces and garden-walls overhung with richly-laden fruit- 
trees, and then vanishes, leaving nothing but a lonely 
desert. And this is the story of it. In old times, when 
• this country was inhabited by the Addites, King Sheddad, 
the son of Ad, the great-grandson of Noah, founded here 
a splendid city. When it was finished, and he saw its 
grandeur, his heart was puffed up with pride and arro- 
gance, and he determined to build a royal palace, with 
gardens which should rival all related in the Koran of the 
celestial paradise. But the curse of heaven fell upon him 
for his presumption. He and his subjects were swept 
from the earth, and his splendid city and palace, and gar- 
dens, were laid under a perpetual spell, which hides them 
from human sight, excepting that they are seen at inter- 
vals, by way of keeping his sin in perpetual remem- 
brance.' 

"This story, O king, and the wonders I had seen, ever 
dwelt in my mind ; and in after-years, when I had been in 
Egypt, and was possessed of the book of knowledge of 

der'-vise : the name of a class of religious persons among the Moham- 
medans, who affect great austerity, living partly in monasteries, and partly 
leading a solitary life. 



LEGEND OF THE ARABIAN ASTROLOGER. \ \ 7 

Solomon the Wise, I determined to return and revisit the 
garden of Irem. I did so, and found it revealed to my 
instructed sight. I took possession of the palace of Shed- 
dad, and passed several days in his mock paradise. The 
genii who watch over the place were obedient to my magic 
power, and revealed to me the spells by which the whole 
garden had been, as it were, conjured into existence, and 
by which it was rendered invisible. Such a palace and 
garden, O king, can I make for thee, even here, on the 
mountain above thy city. Do I not know all the secret 
spells } And am I not in possession of the book of knowl- 
edge of Solomon the Wise ? " 

" O wise son of Abu Ayub ! " exclaimed Aben Habuz, 
trembling with eagerness, " thou art a traveller indeed, 
and hast seen and learned marvellous things ! Contrive 
me such a paradise, and ask any reward, even to the half 
of my kingdom." 

" Alas ! " replied the other, " thou knowest I am an old 
man, and a philosopher, and easily satisfied ; all the reward 
I ask is the first beast of burden, with its load, which shall 
enter the magic portal of the palace." 

The monarch gladly agreed to so moderate a stipulation, 
and the astrologer began his work. On the summit of the 
hill, immediately above his subterranean hermitage, he 
caused a great gateway or barbican to be erected, opening 
through the centre of a strong tower. 

There was an outer vestibule or porch, with a lofty arch, 

Solomon the Wise : Arabic legends represent King Solomon to have had 
power over all sorts of evil spirits, through whom he obtained vast treasures 
that were in their keeping. For disobedience to his commands many of these 
genii were enclosed m great bottles sealed by his seal, from which they were 
unable to escape. In his book of knowledge was recorded the charms by 
which he worked his magic spells. 



Il8 THE ALHAMBRA. 

and within it a portal secured by massive gates. On the 
keystone of the portal the astrologer, with his own hand, 
wrought the figure of a huge key ; and on the keystone of 
the outer arch of the vestibule, which was loftier than that 
of the portal, he carved a gigantic hand. These were 
potent talismans, over which he repeated many sentences 
in an unknown tongue. 

When this gateway was finished, he shut himself up for 
two days in his astrological hall, engaged in secret incan- 
tations ; on the third he ascended the hill, and passed the 
whole day on its summit. At a late hour of the night he 
came down, and presented himself before Aben Habuz. 
"At length, O king," said he, "my labor is accomplished. 
On the summit of the hill stands one of the most delectable 
palaces that ever the head of man devised, or the heart of 
man desired. It contains sumptuous halls and galleries, 
delicious gardens, cool fountains, and fragrant baths ; in a 
word, the whole mountain is converted into a paradise. 
Like the garden of Irem, it is protected by a mighty 
charm, which hides it from the view and search of mortals, 
excepting such as possess the secret of its talismans." 

"Enough!" cried Aben Habuz, joyfully, "to-morrow 
morning with the first light we will ascend and take pos- 
session." The happy monarch slept but little that night. 
Scarcely had the rays of the sun begun to play about the 
snowy summit of the Sierra Nevada, when he mounted his 
steed, and, accompanied only by a few chosen attendants, 
ascended a steep and narrow road leading up the hill. 
Beside him, on a white palfrey, rode the Gothic princess, 

in-can-ta'-tion : a form of words used in connection with certain cerema 
nies for the purpose of enchantment. 
pal'-frey : a gentle horse for ladies. 



LEGEND OF THE ARABIAN ASTROLOGER. 119 

her whole dress sparkling with jewels, while round her 
neck was suspended her silver lyre. The astrologer walked 
on the other side of the king, assisting his steps with his 
hieroglyphic staff, for he never mounted steed of any kind. 

Aben Habuz looked to see the towers of the palace 
brightening above him, and the embowered terraces of its 
gardens stretching along the heights ; but as yet nothing 
of the kind was to be descried. "That is the mystery and 
safeguard of the place," said the astrologer, "nothing can 
be discerned until you have passed the spell-bound gate- 
way, and been put in possession of the place." 

As they approached the gateway, the astrologer paused, 
and pointed out to the king the mystic hand and key 
carved upon the portal of the arch. '* These," said he, 
" are the talismans which guard the entrance to this para- 
dise. Until yonder hand shall reach down and seize that 
key, neither mortal power nor magic artifice can prevail 
against the lord of this mountain." 

While Aben Habuz was gazing, with open mouth and 
silent wonder, at these mystic talismans, the palfrey of the 
princess proceeded, and bore her in at the portal, to the 
very centre of the barbican. 

" Behold," cried the astrologer, " my promised reward ; 
the first animal with its burden which should enter the 
magic gateway." 

Aben Habuz smiled at what he considered a pleasantry 
of the ancient man ; but when he found him to be in 
earnest, his gray beard trembled with indignation. 

" Son of Abu Ayub," said he, sternly, " what equivoca- 
tion is this } Thou knowest the meaning of my promise : 
the first beast of burden with its load, that should enter 
this portal. Take the strongest mule in my stables, load 



I20 THE ALHAMBRA. 

it with the most precious things of my treasury, and it is 
thine ; but dare not raise thy thoughts to her who is the 
dehght of my heart." 

"What need I of wealth ? " cried the astrologer, scorn- 
fully ; "have I not the book of knowledge of Solomon the 
Wise, and through it the command of the secret treasures 
of the earth ? The princess is mine by right ; thy royal 
word is pledged ; I claim her as my own." 

The princess looked down haughtily from her palfrey, 
and a light smile of scorn curled her rosy lip at this dis- 
pute between two gray-beards for the possession of youth 
and beauty. The wrath of the monarch got the better of 
his discretion. "Base son of the desert," cried he, "thou 
mayst be master of many arts, but know me for thy mas- 
ter, and presume not to juggle with thy king." 

" My master my king ! " echoed the astrologer, — " the 
monarch of a mole-hill to claim sway over him who pos- 
sesses the talismans of Solomon ! Farewell, Aben Habuz ; 
reign over thy petty kingdom, and revel in thy paradise of 
fools ; for me, I will laugh at thee in my philosophic retire- 
ment." 

So saying, he seized the bridle of the palfrey, smote the 
earth with his staff, and sank with the Gothic princess 
through the centre of the barbican. The earth closed over 
them, and no trace remained of the opening by which they 
had descended. 

Aben Habuz was struck dumb for a time with astonish- 
ment. Recovering himself, he ordered a thousand work-, 
men to dig, with pickaxe and spade, into the ground where 
the astrologer had disappeared. They digged and digged, 
but in vain ; the flmty bosom of the hill resisted their 

jug'-gle : to play tricks upon. 



LEGEND OF THE ARABIAN ASTROLOGER. 12I 

implements ; or if they did penetrate a little way, the 
earth filled in again as fast as they threw it out. Aben 
Habuz sought the mouth of the cavern at the foot of the 
hill, leading to the subterranean palace of the astrologer ; 
but it was nowhere to be found. Where once had been 
an entrance, was a solid surface of primeval rock. With 
the disappearance of Ibrahim ceased the benefit of his tal- 
ismans. The bronze horseman remained fixed, with his 
face turned toward the hill, and his spear pointed to the 
spot where the astrologer had descended, as if there still 
lurked the deadliest foe of Aben Habuz. 

From time to time the sound of music, and the tones of 
a female voice, could be faintly heard from the bosom of 
the hill ; and a peasant one day brought word to the king, 
that in the preceding night he had found a fissure in the 
rock, by which he had crept in, until he looked down into 
a subterranean hall, in which sat the astrologer, on a mag- 
nificent divan, slumbering and nodding to the silver lyre 
of the princess, which seemed to hold a magic sway over 
his senses. 

Aben Habuz sought the fissure in the rock, but it was 
again closed. He renewed the attempt to unearth his 
rival, but all in vain. The spell of the hand and key was 
too potent to be counteracted by human power. As to the 
summit of the mountain, the site of the promised palace 
and garden, it remained n naked waste ; either the boasted 
elysium was hidden from sight by enchantment, or was a 
mere fable of the astrologer. The world charitably supposed 
the latter, and some used to call the place "The King's 
Folly " ; while others named it " The Fool's Paradise." 

pri-me'-val : of the earliest ages, 
e-ly'-si-um : any place exquisitely pleasant. 



122 THE ALHAMBRA. 

To add to the chagrin of Aben Habuz, the neighbors 
whom he had defied and taunted, and cut up at his leisure 
while master of the talismanic horseman, finding him no 
longer protected by magic spell, made inroads into his ter- 
ritories from all sides, and the remainder of the life of the 
most pacific of monarchs was a series of turmoils. 

At length Aben Habuz died, and was buried. Ages 
have since rolled away. The Alhambra has been built 
on the eventful mountain, and in some measure realizes 
the fabled delights of the garden of Irem. The spell- 
bound gateway still exists entire, protected no doubt by 
the mystic hand and key, and now forms the Gate of 
Justice, the grand entrance to the fortress. Under that 
gateway, it is said, the old astrologer remains in his sub- 
terranean hall, nodding on his divan, lulled by the silver 
lyre of the princess. 

The old invalid sentinels, who mount guard at the gate 
hear the strains occasionally in the summer nights ; and, 
yielding to their soporific power, doze quietly at their 
posts. Nay, so drowsy an influence pervades the place, 
that even those who watch by day may generally be seen 
nodding on the stone benches of the barbican, or sleep- 
ing under the neighboring trees ; so that in fact it is the 
drowsiest military post in all Christendom. All this, say 
the ancient legends, will endure from age to age. The 
princess will remain captive to the astrologer ; and the 
astrologer bound up in magic slumber by the princess, 
until the last day, unless the mystic hand shall grasp the 
fated key, and dispel the whole charm of this enchanted 
mountain. 

sop-o-rif'-ic : causing sleep. 



LEGEND OF PRINCE AHMED AL KAAIEL. 



123 



LEGEND OF PRINCE AHMED AL KAMEL ; 



OR, 

THE PILGRIM OF LOVE. 



There was once a Moorish king of Granada, who had 
but one son, whom he named Ahmed, to which his court- 
iers added the surname of the Perfect, from the indubita- 
ble signs of superexcellence which they perceived in him 
in his very infancy. The astrologers countenanced them 
in their foresight, predicting everything in his favor that 
could make a perfect prince and a prosperous sovereign. 
One cloud only rested upon his destiny, and even that was 
of a roseate hue : he would be of an amorous tempera- 
ment, and run great perils from the tender passion of love. 
If, however, he could be kept from its allurements until of 
mature age, these dangers would be averted, and his life 
thereafter be one uninterrupted course of felicity. 

To prevent all danger of this kind, the king wisely deter- 
mined to rear the prince in a seclusion where he should 
never see a female face, nor hear even the name of love. 
For this purpose he built a beautiful palace on the brow 
of the hill above the Alhambra, in the midst of delightful 
gardens, but surrounded by lofty walls, being, in fact, the 
same palace known at the present day by the name of the 
Generalife. In this palace the youthful prince was shut 

am'-o-rous: fond; affectionate. 



124 ^-^^ ALHAMBRA. 

up, and intrusted to the guardianship and instruction of 
Eben Bonabben, one of the wisest and dryest of Arabian 
sages, who had passed the greatest part of liis hfe in Egypt, 
studying hieroglyphics, and making researches among the 
tombs and pyramids, and who saw more cliarms in an Egyp- 
tian mummy than in the most tempting of Hving beauties. 
The sage was ordered to instruct the prince in all kinds of 
knowledge but one, — he was to be kept utterly ignorant 
of love. " Use every precaution for the purpose you may 
think proper," said the king, "but remember, O Eben 
Bonabben, if my son learns aught of that forbidden knowl- 
edge while under your care, your head shall answer for it." 
A withered smile came .over the dry visage of the wise 
Bonabben, at the menace. " Let your majesty's heart be 
as easy about your son, as mine is about my head : am I 
a man likely to give lessons in the idle passion .'' " 

Under the vigilant care of the philosopher, the prince 
grew up in the seclusion of the palace and its gardens. 
His mental endowments were the peculiar care of Eben 
Bonabben, who sought to initiate him into the abstruse 
lore of Egypt ; but in this the prince made little progress, 
and it was soon evident that he had no turn for philosophy. 

He was, however, amazingly ductile for a youthful prince, 
ready to follow any advice, and always guided by the last 
counsellor. He suppressed his yawns, and listened pa- 
tiently to the long and learned discourses of Eben Bonab- 
ben, from which he imbibed a smattering of various kinds 
of knowledge, and thus happily attained his twentieth year, 
a miracle of princely wisdom — but totally ignorant of love. 

About this time, however, a change came over the con- 
sage : a learned and venerable philosopher. 
ab-struse' lore : learning that is difficult to acquire. 



LEGEND OF PRINCE AHMED AL KAMEL. 125 

duct of the prince. He completely abandoned his studies, 
and took to strolling about the gardens, and musing by the 
side of the fountains. He had been taught a little music 
among his various accomplishments ; it now engrossed a 
great part of his time, and a turn for poetry became appar- 
ent. The sage Eben Bonabben took the alarm, 'and 
endeavored to work these idle humors out of him by a 
severe course of algebra ; but the prince turned from it 
with distaste. " I cannot endure algebra," said he ; " it is 
an abomination to me. I want something that speaks 
more to the heart." 

The sage Eben Bonabben shook his dry head at the 
words. " Here is an end to philosophy," thought he. 
" The prince has discovered he has a heart ! " He now 
kept anxious watch upon his pupil, and saw that the latent 
tenderness of his nature was in activity, and only wanted 
an object. He wandered about the gardens of the Gene- 
ralife in an intoxication of feelings of which he knew not 
the cause. Sometimes he would sit plunged in a delicious 
reverie ; then he would seize his lute and draw from it the 
most touching notes, and then throw it aside, and break 
forth into sighs and ejaculations. 

By degrees this loving disposition began to extend to 
inanimate objects ; he had his favorite flowers, which he 
cherished with tender assiduity ; then he became attached 
to various trees, and there was one in particular, of a grace- 
ful form and drooping foliage, on which he lavished his 
devotion, carving his name on its bark, hanging garlands 
on its branches, and singing couplets in its praise, to the 
accompaniment of his lute. 

Eben Bonabben was alarmed at this excited state of his 
pupil. He saw him on the very brink of forbidden knowl- 



126 THE ALHAMBRA. 

edge — the least hint might reveal to him the fatal secret. 
Trembling for the safety of the prince and the security of 
his own head, he hastened to draw him from the seductions 
of the garden, and shut him up in the highest tower of the 
Generalife. It contained beautiful apartments, and com- 
manded an almost boundless prospect, but was elevated far 
above that atmosphere of sweets and those witching 
bowers so dangerous to the feelings of the too susceptible 
Ahmed. 

What was to be done, however, to reconcile him to this 
restraint and to beguile the tedious hours .'* He had ex- 
hausted almost all kinds of agreeable knowledge; and 
algebra was not to be mentioned. Fortunately Eben Bon- 
abben had been instructed, when in Egypt, in the language 
of birds by a Jewish Rabbi, who had received it in lineal 
transmission from Solomon the Wise, who had been taught 
it by the queen of Sheba. At the very mention of such a 
study, the eyes of the prince sparkled with animation, and 
he applied himself to it with such avidity, that he soon 
became as great an adept as his master. 

The Tower of the Generalife was no longer a solitude ; 
he had companions at hand with whom he could converse. 
The first acquaintance he formed was with a hawk, who 
built his nest in a crevice of the lofty battlements, whence 
he soared far and wide in quest of prey. The prince, 
however, found little to like or esteem in him. He was a 
mere pirate of the air, swaggering and boastful, whose talk 
was all about rapine and carnage, and desperate exploits. 

His next acquaintance was an owl, a mighty wise-look- 
ing bird, with a huge head and staring eyes, who sat 
blinking and goggling all day in a hole in the wall, but 

rap'-ine and car'-nage : plundering and slaughter. 



LEGEND OF PKIACE AHMED AL KAMEL. 127 

roamed forth at night. He had great pretensions to wis- 
dom, talked of astrology and the moon, and the prince 
found his prosings even more ponderous than those of the 
sage Ebcn Bonabben. 

Then there was a bat, that hung all day by his heels in 
the dark corner of a vault, but sallied out in slipshod style 
at twilight. He, however, had but twilight ideas on all 
subjects, derided things of which he had taken but an im- 
perfect view, and seemed to take delight in nothing. 

Besides these there was a swallow, with whom the prince 
was at first much taken. He was a smart talker, but rest- 
less, bustling, and forever on the wing ; seldom remaining 
long enough for any continued conversation. He turned 
out in the end to be a mere smatterer, who did but skim 
over the surface of things, pretending to know everything, 
but knowing nothing thoroughly. 

These were the only feathered associates with whom 
the prince had any opportunity of exercising his newly 
acquired language : the tower was too high for any other 
birds to frequent it. He soon grew weary of his new 
acquaintances, whose conversation spoke so little to the 
head and nothing to the heart, and gradually relapsed into 
his loneliness. A winter passed away, spring opened with 
all its bloom and verdure and breathing sweetness, and 
the happy time arrived for birds to pair and build their 
nests. Suddenly, as it were, a universal burst of song and 
melody broke forth from the groves and gardens of the 
Generalife, and reached the prince in the solitude of his 
tower. From every side he heard the same universal 
theme — love — love — love — chanted forth, and responded 
to in every variety of note and tone. The prince listened 
in silence and perplexity. "What can be this love," 



128 THE ALHAMBRA. 

thought he, "of which the world seems so full, and of 
which I know nothing ? " He applied for information to 
his friend the hawk. The ruffian bird answered in a tone 
of scorn: "You must apply," said he, ""to the vulgar 
peaceable birds of earth, who are made for the prey of us 
princes of the air. My trade is war, and fighting my de- 
light. I am a warrior, and know nothing of this thing 
called love." 

The prince turned from him with disgust, and sought 
the owl in his retreat. "This is a bird," said he, "of 
peaceful habits, and may be able to solve my question." 
So he asked the owl to tell him what was this love about 
which all the birds in the groves below were singing. 

Upon this the owl put on a look of offended dignity. 
" My nights," said he, " are taken up in study and re- 
search, and my days in ruminating in my cell upon all 
that I have learnt. As to these singing birds of whom 
you talk, I never listen to them — I despise them and 
their themes. Allah be praised, I cannot sing ; I am a 
philosopher, and know nothing of this thing called love." 

The prince now repaired to the vault, where his friend 
the bat was hanging by the heels, and propounded the 
same question. The bat wrinkled up his nose into a 
most snappish expression. "Why do you disturb me in 
my morning's nap with such an idle question } " said he, 
peevishly. "I only fly by twilight, when all birds are 
asleep, and never trouble myself with their concerns. I 
am neither bird nor beast, and I thank heaven for it. I have 
found out the villany of the whole of them, and hate them 
one and all. I know nothing of this thing called love." 

As a last resort, the prince now sought the swallow, and 
stopped him just as he was circling about the summit of 



LEGEND OF PRINCE AHMED AL KAMEL. 129 

the tower. The swallow, as usual, was in a prodigious 
hurry, and had scarce time to make a reply. "Upon my 
word,'' said he, " I have so much public business to attend 
to, and so many pursuits to follow, that I have had no 
time to think on the subject. I have every day a thousand 
visits to pay ; a thousand affairs of importance to examine 
into, that leave me not a moment of leisure for these little 
sing-song matters. In a word, I am a citizen of the world 
— I know nothing of this thing called love." So saying, 
the swallow dived into the valley, and was out of sight in a 
moment. 

The prince remained disappointed and perplexed, but 
with his curiosity still more piqued by the difficulty of 
gratifying it. While in this mood, his ancient guardian 
entered the tower. The prince advanced eagerly to meet 
him. " O Eben Bonabben," cried he, "thou hast revealed 
to me much of the wisdom of the earth ; but there is one 
thing of which I remain in utter ignorance, and would fain 
be informed." 

" My prince has but to make the inquiry, and everything 
within the limited range of his servant's intellect is at his 
command." 

" Tell me then, O most profound of sages, what is the 
nature of this thing called love.-*" 

Eben Bonabben was struck as with a thunderbolt. He 
trembled and turned pale, and felt as if his head sat but 
loosely on his shoulders. 

"What could suggest such a question to my prince, — 
where could he have learned so idle a word .'' " 

The prince led him to the window of the tower. " Lis- 
ten, Eben Bonabben," said he. The sage listened. The 
nightingale sat in a thicket below the tower, singing to the 



I30 



THE ALHAMBRA. 



rose ; from every blossomed spray and tufted grove rose a 
strain of melody; and love — love — love — was still the 
unvarying strain. 

" Allah is great ! " exclaimed the wise Bonabben. " Who 
shall pretend to keep this secret from the heart of man, 
when even the birds of the air conspire to betray it ? " 

Then turning to Ahmed — "O my prince," cried he, 
" shut thine ears to these seductive strains. Close thy 
mind against this dangerous knowledge. Know that this 
love is the cause of half the ills of wretched mortality. It 
is this which produces bitterness and strife between 
brethren and friends ; which causes treacherous murder 
and desolating war. Care and sorrow, weary days and 
sleepless nights, are its attendants. It withers the bloom 
and blights the joy of youth, and brings on the ills and 
griefs of premature old age. Allah preserve thee, my 
prince, in total ignorance of this thing called love ! " 

The sage Eben Bonabben hastily retired, leaving the 
prince plunged in still deeper perplexity. It was in vain 
he attempted to dismiss the subject from his mind ; it 
still continued uppermost in his thoughts, and teased and 
exhausted him with vain conjectures. Surely, said he to 
himself, as he listened to the tuneful strains of the birds, 
there is no sorrow in those notes ; everything seems tender- 
ness and joy. If love be a cause of such wretchedness 
and strife, why are not these birds drooping in solitude, or 
tearing each other in pieces, instead of fluttering cheerfully 
about the groves, or sporting with each other among the 
flowers ? 

He lay one morning on his couch, meditating on this 
inexplicable matter. The window of his chamber was 
open to admit the soft morning breeze, which came laden 



LEGEND OF PRINCE AHMED AL KAMEL. 



131 



with the perfume of orange-blossoms from the valley of 
the Darro. The voice of the nightingale was faintly- 
heard, still chanting the wonted theme. As the prince 
was listening and sighing, there was a sudden rushing 
noise in the air; a beautiful dove, pursued by a hawk, 
darted in at the window, and fell panting on the floor, 
while the pursuer, balked of his prey, soared off to the 
mountains. 

The prince took up the gasping bird, smoothed its 
feathers, and nestled it in his bosom. When he had 
soothed it by his caresses, he put it in a golden cage, and 
offered it, with his own hands, the whitest and finest of 
wheat and the purest of water. The bird, however, refused 
food, and sat drooping and pining, and uttering piteous 
moans. 

"What aileth thee .-'" said Ahmed. "Hast thou not 
everything thy heart can wish } " 

"Alas, no!" replied the dove; "am I not separated 
from the partner of my heart, and that too in the happy 
spring-time, the very season of love ! " 

"Of love!" echoed Ahmed. "I pray thee, my pretty 
bird, canst thou then tell me what is love ? " 

" Too well can I, my prince. It is the torment of one, 
the felicity of two, the strife and enmity of three. It is a 
charm which draws two beings together, and unites them 
by delicious sympathies, making it happiness to be with 
each other, but misery to be apart. Is there no being to 
whom you are drawn by these ties of tender affection .-' " 

" I like my old teacher Eben Bonabben better than any 
other being ; but he is often tedious, and I occasionally 
feel myself happier without his society." 

"That is not the sympathy I mean. I speak of love. 



132 THE ALHAMBRA. 

the great mystery and principle of life : the intoxicating 
revel of youth ; the sober delight of age. Look forth, my 
prince, and behold how at this blest season all nature is 
full of love. The most insignificant bird sings to its mate ; 
the very beetle wooes its lady-beetle, and yon butterflies 
which you see fluttering high above the tower and toying 
in the air, are happy in each other's loves. Alas, my 
prince ! hast thou spent so many of the precious days of 
youth without knowing anything of love .'' Is there no 
gentle being of another sex — no beautiful princess nor 
lovely damsel who has ensnared your heart, and filled your 
bosom with a soft tumult of pleasing pains and tender 
wishes .-* " 

" I begin to understand," said the prince, sighing ; " but 
where should I seek for an object such as you describe in 
this dismal solitude .'' " 

A little further conversation ensued, and the first lesson 
of the prince was complete. 

" Alas ! " said he, " if love be indeed such a delight, and 
its interruption such a misery, Allah forbid that I should 
mar the joy of any of its votaries." He opened the cage, 
took out the dove, and having fondly kissed it, carried it to 
the window. " Go, happy bird," said he, " rejoice with the 
partner of thy heart in the days of youth and spring-time. 
Why should I make thee a fellow-prisoner in this dreary 
tower where love can never enter } " 

The dove flapped its wings in rapture, gave one vault 
into the air, and then swooped downward on whistling 
wings to the blooming bowers of the Darro. 

The prince followed him with his eyes, and then gave 
way to bitter repining. The singing of the birds, which 

vo'-ta-ry: one who is consecrated to any object by vow or promise. 



LEGEND OF PRINCE AHMED AL KAMEL. 133 

once delighted him, now added to his bitterness. Love ! 
love ! lov^e ! Alas, poor youth ! he now understood the 
strain. 

His eyes flashed fire when next he beheld the sage 
Bonabben. "Why hast thou kept me in this abject igno- 
rance } " cried he. " Why has the great mystery and prin- 
ciple of life been withheld from me, in which I find the 
meanest insect is so learned } Behold all nature is in a 
revel of delight. Every created being rejoices with its 
mate. This — this is the love about which I have sought 
instruction. Why am I alone debarred its enjoyment .'' 
Why has so much of my youth been wasted without a 
knowledge of it .■' " 

The sage Bonabben saw that all further reserve was use- 
less ; for the prince had acquired the dangerous and for- 
bidden knowledge. He revealed to him, therefore, the 
predictions of the astrologers and the precautions that had 
been taken in his education to avert the threatened evils. 
"And now, my prince," added he, "my life is in your 
hands. Let the king your father discover that you have 
learned the passion of love while under my guardianship, 
and my head must answer for it." 

The prince was as reasonable as most young men of his 
age, and easily listened to the remonstrances of his tutor, 
since nothing pleaded against them. Besides, he really 
was attached to Eben Bonabben, and being as yet but 
theoretically acquainted with the passion of love, he con- 
sented to confine the knowledge of it to his own bosom, 
rather than endanger the head of the philosopher. 

His discretion was doomed, however, to be put to still 
further proofs. A few mornings afterwards, as he was 
ruminating on the battlements of the tower, the dove 



134 THE ALHAMBRA. 

which had been released by him came hovering in the air, 
and alighted fearlessly upon his shoulder. 

The prince fondled it to his heart. " Happy bird," said 
he, " who can fly, as it were, with the wings of the morn- 
ing to the uttermost parts of the earth. Where hast thou 
been since we parted .-' " 

"In a far country, my prince, whence I bring you tid- 
ings in reward for my liberty. In the wild compass of my 
flight, which extends over plain and mountain, as I was 
soaring in the air, I beheld below me a delightful garden 
with all kinds of fruits and flowers. It was in a green 
meadow, on the banks of a wandering stream : and in the 
centre of the garden was a stately palace. I alighted in 
one of the bowers to repose after my weary flight. On 
the green bank below me was a youthful princess, in the 
very sweetness and bloom of her years. She was sur- 
rounded by female attendants, young like herself, who 
decked her with garlands and coronets of flowers ; but no 
flower of field or garden could compare with her for loveli- 
ness. Here, however, she bloomed in secret, for the gar- 
den was surrounded by high walls, and no mortal man was 
permitted to enter. When I beheld this beauteous maid, 
thus young and innocent and unspotted by the world, I 
thought, here is the being formed by heaven to inspire my 
prince with love." 

The description was a spark of fire to the combustible 
heart of Ahmed, and he conceived an immeasurable pas- 
sion for the princess. He wrote a letter, couched in the 
most impassioned language, breathing his fervent devotion, 
but bewailing the unhappy thraldom of his person, which 
prevented him from seeking her out and throwing himself 
at her feet. He added couplets of the most tender and 



LEGEND OF PRINCE AHMED AL RAM EL. 



135 



moving eloquence, for he was a poet by nature, and in- 
spired by love. He addressed his letter — " To the 
Unknown Beauty, from the captive Prince Ahmed " ; 
then perfuming it with musk and roses, he gave it to the 
dove. 

" Away, trustiest of messengers ! " said he. " Fly over 
mountain, and valley, and river, and plain ; rest not in 
bower, nor set foot on earth, until thou hast given this 
letter to the mistress of my heart." 

The dove soared high in air, and taking his course 
darted away in one undeviating direction. The prince 
followed him with his eye until he was a mere speck on a 
cloud, and gradually disappeared behind a mountain. 

Day after day he watched for the return of the messen- 
ger of love, but he watched in vain. He began to accuse 
him of forgetfulness, when towards sunset one evening 
the faithful bird fluttered into his apartment, and, falling 
at his feet, expired. The arrow of some wanton archer 
had pierced his breast, yet he had struggled with the lin- 
gerings of life to execute his mission. As the prince bent 
with grief over this gentle martyr to fidelity, he beheld a 
chain of pearls round his neck, attached to which, beneath 
his wing, was a small enamelled picture. It represented a 
lovely princess in the very flower of her years. It was 
doubtless the unknown beauty of the garden ; but who 
and where was she .'' — how had she received his letter } 
and was this picture sent as a token of her approval of his 
love .-' Unfortunately the death of the faithful dove left 
everything in mystery and doubt. 

The prince gazed on the picture till his eyes swam with 
tears. He pressed it to his lips and to his heart ; he sat 
for hours contemplating it almost in an agony of tender- 



136 THE ALHAMBRA. 

ness. " Beautiful image ! " said he, "alas, thou art but an 
image ! Yet thy dewy eyes beam tenderly upon me ; those 
rosy lips look as though they would speak encouragement : 
vain fancies ! Have they not looked the same on some 
more happy rival ? But where in this wide world shall I 
hope to find the original ? Who knows what mountains, 
what realms, may separate us ; what adverse chances may 
intervene ? Perhaps now, even now, lovers may be crowd- 
ing around her, while I sit here a prisoner in a tower, wast- 
ing my time in adoration of a painted shadow." 

The resolution of Prince Ahmed was taken. " I will fly 
from this palace," said he, " which has become an odious 
prison ; and, a pilgrim of love, will seek this unknown prin- 
cess throughout the world." To escape from the tower in 
the day, when every one was awake, might be a difHcult 
matter; but at night the palace was slightly guarded; for 
no one apprehended any attempt of the kind from the 
prince, who had always been so passive in his captivity. 
How was he to guide himself, however, in his darkling 
flight, being ignorant of the country .'' He bethought him 
of the owl, who was accustomed to roam at night, and 
must know every by-lane and secret pass. Seeking him 
in his hermitage, he questioned him touching his knowl- 
edge of the land. Upon this the owl put on a mighty self- 
important look. " You must know, O prince," said he, 
"that we owls are of a very ancient and extensive family, 
though rather fallen to decay, and possess ruinous castles 
and palaces in all parts of Spain. There is scarcely a 
tower of the mountains, or a fortress of the plains, or an 
old citadel of a city, but has some brother, or uncle, or 
cousin quartered in it ; and in going the rounds to visit 
this my numerous kindred, I have pried into every nook 



LEGEND OF PRINCE AHMED AL KAMEL. 



137 



and corner, and made myself acquainted with every secret 
of the land." 

The prince was overjoyed to find the owl so deeply 
versed in topography, and now informed him, in confi- 
dence, of his tender passion and his intended elopement, 
urging him to be his companion and counsellor. 

" Go to ! " said the owl, with a look of displeasure ; 
"am I a bird to engage in a love-affair,-' — I, whose whole 
time is devoted to meditation and the moon } " 

"Be not offended, most solemn owl," replied the prince; 
"abstract thyself for a time from meditation and the 
moon, and aid me in my flight, and thou shalt have what- 
ever heart can wish." 

"I have that already," said the owl: "a few mice are 
sufficient for my frugal table, and this hole in the wall is 
spacious enough for my studies ; and what more does a 
philosopher like myself desire.-'" 

" Bethink thee, most wise owl, that while moping in thy 
cell and gazing at the moon, all thy talents are lost to the 
world. I shall one day be a sovereign prince, and may 
advance thee to some post of honor and dignity." 

The owl, though a philosopher and above the ordinary 
wants of life, was not above ambition, so he was finally 
prevailed on to elope with the prince, and be his guide and 
mentor in his pilgrimage. 

The plans of a lover are promptly executed. The 
prince collected all his jewels, and concealed them about 
his person as travelling funds. That very night he low- 
ered himself by his scarf from a balcony of the tower, 
clamored over the outer walls of the Generalife, and, 

to-pog'-ra-phy : the exact and minute knowledge of any place or region. 
e-lope'-ment : secret or unauthorized flight. 



138 THE ALHAMBKA. 

guided by the owl, made good his escape before morning 
to the mountains. 

He now held a council with his mentor as to his future 
course. 

" Might I advise," said the owl, " I would recommend 
you to repair to Seville. You must know that rriany years 
since I was on a visit to an uncle, an owl of great dignity 
and power, who lived in a ruined wing of the castle of 
that place. In my hoverings at night over the city I fre- 
quently remarked a light burning in a lonely tower. At 
length I alighted on the battlements, and found it to 
proceed from the lamp of an Arabian magician : he was 
surrounded by his magic books, and on his shoulder was 
perched an ancient raven who had come with him from 
Egypt. I am acquainted with that raven, and owe to him 
a great part of the knowledge I possess. The magician is 
since dead, but the raven still inhabits the tower, for these 
birds are of wonderful long life. I would advise you, O 
prince, to seek that raven, for he is a soothsayer and a 
conjurer, and deals in the black art, for which all ravens, 
and especially those of Egypt, are renowned. 

The prince was struck with the wisdom of this advice, 
and accordingly bent his course towards Seville. He 
travelled only in the night to accommodate his companion, 
and lay by during the day in some dark cavern or moulder- 
ing watch-tower, for the owl knew every hiding-hole of the 
kind, and had a most antiquarian taste for ruins. 

men'-tor : a wise and faithful monitor or guide. 
sooth'-say-er: one who undertakes to foretell events. 
con'-jur-er : one who practises magical arts. 

black' art: a name given in the Middle Ages to magic, or the performance 
of difficult acts, by the supposed aid of evil spirits or supernatural powers. 



LEGEND OF PRINCE AHMED AL KAMEL. 



139 



At length one morning at daybreak they reached the 
city of Seville, where the owl, who hated the glare and 
bustle of crowded streets, halted without the gate, and 
took up his quarters in a hollow tree. 

The prince entered the gate, and readily found the 
magic tower, which rose above the houses of the city, as 
a pami-tree rises above the shrubs of the desert ; it was 
in fact the same tower standing at the present day, and 
known as the Giralda, the famous Moorish tower of Se- 
ville. 

The prince ascended by a great winding staircase to the 
summit of the tower, where he found the cabalistic raven, 
— an old, mysterious, gray-headed bird, ragged in feather, 
with a film over one eye that gave him the glare of a spec- 
tre. He was perched on one leg, with his head turned on 
one side, poring with his remaining eye on a diagram 
described on the pavement. 

The prince approached him with the awe and reverence 
naturally inspired by his venerable appearance and super- 
natural wisdom. " Pardon me, most ancient and darkly 
wise raven," exclaimed he, "if for a moment I interrupt 
those studies which are the wonder of the world. You 
behold befcrre you a votary of love, who would fain seek 
your counsel how to obtain the object of his passion." 

"In other words," said the raven, with a significant look, 
"you seek to try my skill in palmistry. Come, show me 
your hand, and let me decipher the mysterious lines of 
fortune." 

" Excuse me," said the prince, " I come not to pry into 

spec'-tre : an apparition, a ghost. 

pal'-mis-try : the pretended art of telling fortunes by the lines in the palm 
of the hand. 



I40 THE ALHAMBRA. 

the decrees of fate, which are hidden by Allah from the 
eyes of mortals ; I am a pilgrim of love, and seek but to 
find a clue to the object of my pilgrimage. I seek one 
unknown beauty, the original of this picture ; and I be- 
seech thee, most potent raven, if it be within the scope of 
thy knowledge or the reach of thy art, inform me where 
she may be found ? " 

" What know I," replied the gray-headed raven, dryly, 
" of youth and beauty ? my visits are to the old and with- 
ered, not the fresh and fair ; the harbinger of fate am I ; 
who croak bodings of death from the chimney-top, and flap 
my wings at the sick man's window. You must seek else- 
where for tidings of your unknown beauty." 

"And where can I seek if not among the sons of wis- 
dom, versed in the book of destiny } Know that I am a 
royal prince, fated by the stars, and sent on a mysterious 
enterprise on which may hang the destiny of empires." 

When the raven heard that it was a matter of vast mo- 
ment, in which the stars took interest, he changed his 
tone and manner, and listened with profound attention to 
the story of the prince. When it was concluded, he re- 
plied, " Touching this princess, I can give thee no infor- 
mation of myself, for my flight is not among* gardens, or 
around ladies' bowers ; but hie thee to Cordova, seek the 
palm-tree of the great Abderahman, which stands in the 
court of the principal mosque : at the foot of it thou wilt 
find a great traveller who has visited all countries and 
courts, and been a favorite with queens and princesses. 
He will give thee tidings of the object of thy search." 

" Many thanks for this precious information," said the 
prince. "Farewell, most venerable conjurer." 

har'-bin-ger : forerunner. 



LEGEND OF PRINCE AHMED AL KAMEL. 141 

"Farewell, pilgrim of love," said the raven, dryly, and 
again fell to pondering on the diagram. 

The prince sallied forth from Seville, sought his fellow- 
traveller the owl, who was still dozing in the hollow tree, 
and set off for Cordova. 

He approached it along hanging gardens, and orange 
and citron groves, overlooking the fair valley of the Gua- 
dalquivir. When arrived at its gates the owl flew up to a 
dark hole in the wall, and the prince proceeded in quest of 
the palm-tree planted in days of yore by the great Abder- 
aJiman. It stood in the midst of the great court of the 
mosque, towering from amidst orange and cypress trees. 
Dervises and faquirs were seated in groups under the 
cloisters of the court, and many of the faithful were per- 
forming their ablutions at the fountains before entering 
the mosque. 

At the foot of the palm-tree was a crowd listening to 
the words of one who appeared to be talking with great 
volubility. "This," said the prince to himself, "must be 
the great traveller who is to give me tidings of the un- 
known princess." He mingled in the crowd, but was 
astonished to perceive that they were all listening to a 
parrot, who with his bright-green coat, and consequential 
top-knot, had the air of a bird on excellent terms with 
himself. 

" How is this," said the prince to one of the by-standers, 
" that so many grave persons can be delighted with a chat- 
tering bird .'' " 

"You know not whom you speak of," said the other; 
" this parrot is a descendant of the famous parrot of 
Persia, renowned for his story-telling talent. He has all 
the learning of the East at the tip of his tongue, and can 



142 



THE ALIIAMBRA. 



quote poetry as fast as he can talk. He has visited various 
foreign courts, where he has been considered an oracle of 
erudition. He has been a universal favorite also with the 
fair sex, who have a vast admiration for erudite parrots that 
can quote poetry." 

" Enough," said the prince, " I will have some private 
talk with this distinguished traveller." 

He sought a private interview, and expounded the nature 
of his errand. He had scarcely mentioned it when the par- 
rot burst into a fit of dry laughter, that absolutely brought 
tears into his eyes. " Excuse my merriment," said he, 
"but the mere mention of love always sets me laughing." 

The prince was shocked at this ill-timed mirth. " Is 
not love," said he, " the great mystery of nature, the 
secret principle of life, the universal bond of sympathy } " 

" A fig's end ! " cried the parrot, interrupting him ; 
"prithee where hast thou learned this sentimental jar- 
gon ? trust me, love is quite out of vogue ; one never 
hears of it in company of wits and people of refinement." 

The prince sighed as he recalled the different language 
of his friend the dove. But this parrot, thought he, has 
lived about the court, he affects the wit and the fine gen- 
tleman, he knows nothing of the thing called love. Un- 
willing to provoke any more ridicule of the sentiment 
which filled his heart, he now directed his inquiries to 
the immediate purport of his visit. 

"Tell me," said he, "most accomplished parrot, thou 
who hast everywhere been admitted to the most secret 
bowers of beauty, hast thou in the course of thy travels 
met with the original of this portrait ?" 

or'-a-cle : one whose opinion is considered to be of great authority. 
er-u-di'-tion : learning. 



LEGEND OF PRINCE AHMED AL KAMEL. 



143 



The parrot took the picture in his claw, turned his head 
from side to side, and examined it curiously with either 
eye. "Upon my honor," said he, "a very pretty face, 
very pretty ; but then one sees so many pretty women in 
one's travels that one can hardly — but hold — bless me ! 
now I look at it again — sure enough, this is the Princess 
Aldegonda : how could I forget one that is so prodigious a 
favorite with me ! " 

"The Princess Aldegonda ! " echoed the prince ; "and 
where is she to be found ? " 

" Softly, softly," said the parrot ; " easier to be found 
than gained. She is the only daughter of the Christian 
king who reigns at Toledo, and is shut up from the world 
until her seventeenth birthday, on account of some pre- 
diction of those meddlesome fellows the astrologers. 
You'll not get a sight of her ; no mortal man can see her. 
I was admitted to her presence to entertain her, and I 
assure you, on the word of a parrot who has seen the 
world, I have conversed with much sillier princesses in 
my time." 

" A word in confidence, my dear parrot," said the prince. 
" I am heir to a kingdom, and shall one day sit upon a 
throne. I see that you are a bird of parts, and understand 
the world. Help me to gain possession of this princess, 
and I will advance you to some distinguished place about 
court." 

" With all my heart," said the parrot ; " but let it be a 
sinecure if possible, for we wits have a great dislike to 
labor." 

Arrangements were promptly made : the prince sallied 

a bird of parts : a bird possessing great talents. 
si'-ne-cure : an office or position without active service. 



144 ^-^-^ ALHAMBRA. 

forth from Cordova through the same gate by which he 
had entered ; called the owl down from the hole in the 
wall, introduced him to his new travelling companion as a 
brother savant, and away they set off on their journey. 

They travelled much more slowly than accorded with 
the impatience of the prince ; but the parrot was accus- 
tomed to high life, and did not like to be disturbed early 
in the morning. The owl, on the other hand, was for 
sleeping at mid-day, and lost a great deal of time by his 
long siestas. His antiquarian taste also was in the way ; 
for he insisted on pausing and inspecting every ruin, and 
had long legendary tales to tell about every old tower and 
castle in the country. The prince had supposed that he 
and the parrot, being both birds of learning, would delight 
in each other's society, but never had he been more mis- 
taken. They were eternally bickering. The one was a 
wit, the other a philosopher. The parrot quoted poetry, 
was critical on new readings and eloquent on small points 
of erudition ; the owl treated all such knowledge as trifling, 
and relished nothing but metaphysics. Then the parrot 
would sing songs and Repeat bon-mots and crack jokes 
upon his solemn neighbor, and laugh outrageously at his 
own wit ; all which proceedings the owl considered as a 
grievous invasion of his dignity, and would scowl and sulk 
and swell, and be silent for a whole day together. 

The prince heeded not the wranglings of his compan- 
ions, being wrapped up in the dreams of his own fancy 

savant (^sa-vong'^ : a learned person. 
an-ti-qua'-ri-an : pertaining to ancient things, 

met'-a-phys-ics: a science exclusively occupied with mind, as contrasted 
with physics, which is the science of nature or of natural objects. 
bon-mot {bong-mo'^ : a witty reply, a jest. 



LEGEND OF PRINCE AHMED AL KAMEL. 145 

and the contemplation of the portrait of the beautiful 
princess. In this way they journeyed through the stern 
passes of the Sierra Morena, across the sunburnt plains 
of La Mancha and Castile, and along the banks of the 
"Golden Tagus," which winds its wizard mazes over one 
half of Spain and Portugal. At length they came in sight 
of a strong city with walls and towers built on a rocky 
promontory, round the foot of which the Tagus circled 
with brawling violence. 

"Behold," exclaimed the owl, "the ancient and re- 
nowned city of Toledo ; a city famous for its antiquities. 
Behold those venerable domes and towers, hoary with 
time and clothed with legendary grandeur, in which so 
many of my ancestors have meditated." 

" Pish ! " cried the parrot, interrupting his solemn anti- 
quarian rapture, " what have we to do with antiquities, and 
legends, and your ancestry ? Behold what is more to the 
purpose — behold the abode of youth and beauty — behold at 
length, O prince, the abode of your long-sought princess." 

The prince looked in the direction indicated by the 
parrot, and beheld, in a delightful green meadow on the 
banks of the Tagus, a stately palace rising from amidst 
the bowers of a delicious garden. It was just such a 
place as had been described by the dove as the residence 
of the original of the picture. He gazed at it with a 
throbbing heart ; "perhaps at this moment," thought he, 
" the beautiful princess is sporting beneath those shady 
bowers, or pacing with delicate step those stately terraces, 
or reposing beneath those lofty roofs ! " As he looked 
more narrowly, he perceived that the walls of the garden 
were of great height, so as to defy access, while numbers 
of armed guards patrolled around them. 



146 THE ALHAMBRA. 

The prince turned to the parrot. " O most accom- 
plished of birds," said he, " thou hast the gift of human 
speech. Hie thee to yon garden ; seek the idol of my 
soul, and tell her that Prince Ahmed, a pilgrim of love, 
and guided by the stars, has arrived in quest of her on the 
flowery banks of the Tagus." 

The parrot, proud of his embassy, flew away to the 
garden, mounted above its lofty walls, and after soaring 
for a time over the lawns and groves, alighted on the 
balcony of a pavilion that overhung the river. Here, 
looking in at the casement, he beheld the princess re- 
clining on a couch, with her eyes fixed on a paper, while 
tears gently stole after each other down her pallid cheek. 

Pluming his wings for a moment, adjusting his bright- 
green coat, and elevating his top-knot, the parrot perched 
himself beside her with a gallant air ; then assuming a 
tenderness of tone, " Dry thy tears, most beautiful of 
princesses," said he; "I come to bring solace to thy 
heart." 

The princess was startled on hearing a voice, but turn- 
ing and seeing nothing but a little green-coated bird 
bobbing and bowing before her, " Alas ! what solace canst 
thou yield," said she, "seeing thou art but a parrot t " 

The parrot was nettled at the question. " I have con- 
soled many beautiful ladies in my time," said he; "but 
let that pass. At present I come ambassador from a 
royal prince. Know that Ahmed, the prince of Granada, 
has arrived in quest of thee, and is encamped even now on 
the flowery banks of the Tagus." 

case'-ment: a window opening on hinges like a door, 
am-bas'-sa-dor: a representative of the highest rank, sent by one prince 
or government to another for the management of affairs. 



LEGEND OF PRINCE AHMED AL KAMEL. 



H7 



The eyes of the beautiful princess sparkled at these 
words even brighter than the diamonds in her coronet. 
"O sweetest of parrots," cried she, "joyful indeed are 
thy tidings, for I was faint and weary, and sick almost 
unto death with doubt of the constancy of Ahmed. 
Hie thee back, and tell him that the words of his letter 
are engraven in my heart, and his poetry has been the 
food of my soul. Tell him, however, that he must prepare 
to prove his love by force of arms ; to-morrow is my seven- 
teenth birthday, when the king my father holds a great 
tournament ; several princes are to enter the lists, and 
my hand is to be the prize of the victor." 

The parrot again took wing, and rustling through the 
groves, flew back to where the prince awaited his return. 
The rapture of Ahmed on finding the original of his 
adored portrait, and finding her kind and true, can only be 
conceived by those favored mortals who have had the good 
fortune to realize day-dreams and turn a shadow into sub- 
stance : still there was one thing that alloyed his trans- 
port — this impending tournament. In fact, the banks of 
the Tagus were already glittering with arms, and resound- 
ing with trumpets of the various knights, who, with proud 
retinues, were prancing on towards Toledo to attend the 
ceremonial. The same star that had controlled the destiny 
of the prince had governed that of the princess, and until 
her seventeenth birthday she had been shut up from the 
world, to guard her from the tender passion. The fame 
of her charms, however, had been enhanced rather than 

cor'-o-net : an inferior crown worn by noble lords and ladies. 

to enter the lists : the ground or field inclosed for combat between knights 
was called the lists. To enter the lists is to accept a challenge or engage in a 
contest. 



148 THE ALHAMBRA. 

obscured by this seclusion. Several powerful princes had 
contended for her hand ; and her father, who was a king 
of wondrous shrewdness, to avoid making enemies by 
showing partiality, had referred them to the arbitrament of 
arms. Among the rival candidates were several renowned 
for strength and prowess. What a predicament for the 
unfortunate Ahmed, unprovided as he was with weapons, 
and unskilled in the exercise of chivalry ! " Luckless 
prince that I am!" said he, "to have been brought up 
in seclusion under the eye of a philosopher ! Of what 
avail are algebra and philosophy in affairs of love .-' Alas, 
Eben Bonabben ! why hast thou neglected to instruct me 
in the management of arms.''" Upon this the owl broke 
silence, preluding his harangue with a pious ejaculation, 
for he was a devout Mussulman. 

" Allah is great ! " exclaimed he ; " in his hands are all 
secret things — he alone governs the destiny of princes ! 
Know, O prince, that this land is full of mysteries; hidden 
from all but those who, like myself, can grope after knowl- 
edge in the dark. Know that in the neighboring moun- 
tains there is a cave, and in that cave there is an iron table, 
and on that table there lies a suit of magic armor, and 
beside that table there stands a spell-bound steed, which 
have been shut up there for many generations." 

The prince stared with wonder, while the owl, blinking 
his huge round eyes, and erecting his horns, proceeded. 

" Many years since I accompanied my father to these 
parts on a tour of his estates, and we sojourned in that 
cave ; and thus became I acquainted with the mystery. 
It is a tradition in our family which I have heard from 

ar-bit'-ra-ment of arms : a decision arrived at by a personal combat 
between candidates for honors or special favors. 



LEGEND OF PRINCE AHMED AL KAMEL. 



149 



my ^grandfather, when I was yet but a very little owlet, 
that this armor belonged to a Moorish magician, who took 
refuge in this cavern when Toledo was captured by the 
Christians, and died here, leaving his steed and weapons 
under a mystic spell, never to be used but by a Moslem, 
and by him only from sunrise to mid-day. In that interval, 
whoever uses them will overthrow every opponent." 

" Enough : let us seek this cave ! " exclaimed Ahmed. 

Guided by his legendary mentor, the prince found the 
cavern, which was in one of the wildest recesses of those 
rocky cliffs which rise around Toledo ; none but the mous- 
ing eye of an owl or an antiquary could have discovered the 
entrance to it. A sepulchral lamp of everlasting oil shed 
a solemn light through the place. On an iron table in the 
centre of the cavern lay the magic armor, against it leaned 
the lance, and beside it stood an Arabian steed, caparisoned 
for the field, but motionless as a statue. The armor was 
bright and unsullied as it had gleamed in days of old ; the 
steed in as good condition as if just from the pasture; and 
when Ahmed laid his hand upon his neck, he pawed the 
ground and gave a loud neigh of joy that shook the walls 
of the cavern. Thus amply provided with "horse and 
rider and weapon to wear," the prince determined to defy 
the field in the impending tourney. 

The eventful morning arrived. The lists for the combat 
were prepared in the Vega, or plain, just below the cliff- 
built walls of Toledo, where stages and galleries were 
erected for the spectators, covered with rich tapestry, and 
sheltered from the sun by silken awnings. All the beauties 
of the land were assembled in those galleries, while below 
pranced plumed knights with their pages and esquires, 

tour'-ney : tournament, a public combat between knights. 



1^0 THE ALHAMBRA. 

among whom figured conspicuously the princes who were 
to contend in the tourney. All the beauties of the land, 
however, were eclipsed when ''the Princess Aldegonda 
appeared in the royal pavilion, and for the first time broke 
forth upon the gaze of an admiring world. A murmur of 
wonder ran through the crowd at her transcendent loveli- 
ness ; and the princes who were candidates for her hand, 
merely on the faith of her reported charms, now felt ten- 
fold ardor for the conflict. 

The princess, however, had a troubled look. The color 
came and went from her cheek, and her eye wandered with 
a restless and unsatisfied expression over the plumed throng 
of knights. The trumpets were about sounding for the 
encounter, when the herald announced the arrival of a 
strange knight ; and Ahmed rode into the field. A steel 
helmet studded with gems rose above his turban ; his 
cuirass was embossed with gold ; his cimeter and dagger 
were of the workmanship of Fez, and flamed with precious 
stones. A round shield was at his shoulder, and in his 
hand he bore the lance of charmed virtue. The caparison 
of his Arabian steed was richly embroidered and swept 
the ground, and the proud animal pranced and snuffed the 
air, and neighed with joy at once more beholding the array 
of arms. The lofty and graceful demeanor of the prince 
struck every eye, and when his appellation was announced, 
"The Pilgrim of Love," a universal flutter and agitation 
prevailed among the fair dames in the galleries. 

When Ahmed presented himself at the lists, however, 
they were closed against him : none but princes, he was 
told, were admitted to the contest. He declared his name 
and rank. Still worse ! — he was a Moslem, and could not 

ca-par'-i-son : the decorative harness or trappings of a horse. 



LEGEND OF PRINCE AHMED AL KAMEL. \ 5 r 

engage in a tourney where the hand of a Christian prin- 
cess was a prize. 

The rival princes surrounded him with haughty and 
menacing aspects ; and one of insolent demeanor and her- 
culean frame sneered at his light and youthful form, and 
scoffed at his amorous appellation. The ire of the prince 
was roused. He delied his rival to the encounter. They 
took distance, wheeled, and charged ; and at the first touch 
of the magic lance, the brawny scoffer was tilted from his 
saddle. Here the prince would have paused, but, alas ! he 
had to deal with a demoniac horse and armor ; once in 
action, nothing could control them. The Arabian steed 
charged into the thickest of the throng ; the lance over- 
turned everything that presented ; the gentle prince was 
carried pell-mell about the field, strewing it with high and 
low, gentle and simple, and grieving at his own involun- 
tary exploits. The king stormed and raged at this out- 
rage on his subjects and his guests. He ordered out all 
his guards — they were unhorsed as fast as they came up. 
The king threw off his robes, grasped buckler and lance, 
and rode forth to awe the stranger with the presence of 
majesty itself. Alas ! majesty fared no better than the 
vulgar ; the steel and lance were no respecters of persons ; 
to the dismay of Ahmed, he was borne full tilt against the 
king, and in a moment the royal heels were in the air, and 
the crown was rolling in the dust. 

At this moment the sun reached the meridian ; the 
magic spell resumed its power ; the Arabian steed scoured 
across the plain, leaped the barrier, plunged into the 
Tagus, swam its raging current, bore the prince breathless 
and amazed to the caA^ern, and resumed his station, like a 

buck'-ler: a kind of shield anciently used in warfare. 



152 THE ALHAMBRA. 

Statue, beside the iron table. The prince dismounted 
right gladly, and replaced the armor, to abide the further 
decrees of fate. Then seating himself in the cavern, he 
ruminated on the desperate state to which this demoniac 
steed and armor had reduced him. Never should he dare 
to show his face at Toledo after inflicting such disgrace 
upon its chivalry, and such an outrage on its king. What 
too would the princess think of so rude and riotous an 
achievement } Full of anxiety, he sent forth his winged 
messengers to gather tidings. The parrot resorted to all 
the public places and crowded resorts of the city, and soon 
returned with a world of gossip. All Toledo was in con- 
sternation. The princess had been borne off senseless to 
the palace ; the tournament had ended in confusion ; every 
one was talking of the sudden apparition, prodigious ex- 
ploits, and strange disappearance of the Moslem knight. 
Some pronounced him a Moorish magician ; others thought 
him a demon who had assumed a human shape, while 
others related traditions of enchanted warriors hidden in 
the caves of the mountains, and thought it might be one 
of these, who had made a sudden irruption from his den. 
All agreed that no mere ordinary mortal could have 
wrought such wonders, or unhorsed such accomplished 
and stalwart Christian warriors. 

The owl flew forth at night and hovered about the 
dusky city, perching on the roofs and chimneys. He then 
wheeled his flight up to the royal palace, which stood on 
a rocky summit of Toledo, and went prowling about its 
terraces and battlements, eavesdropping at every cranny, 
and glaring in with his big goggling eyes at every window 
where there was a light, so as to throw two or three maids 
of honor into fits. It was not until the gray dawn began 



LEGEND OF PRINCE AHMED AL KAMEL. 153 

to peer above the mountains that he returned from his 
mousing expedition, and related to the prince what he had 
seen. 

" As I was prying about one of the loftiest towers of the 
palace," said he, " I beheld through a casement a beautiful 
princess. She was reclining on a couch with attendants 
and physicians around her, but she would none of their 
ministry and relief. When they retired, I beheld her 
draw forth a letter from her bosom, and read and kiss it, 
and give way to loud lamentations ; at which, philosopher 
as I am, I could but be greatly moved." 

The tender heart of Ahmed was distressed at these 
tidings. "Too true were thy words, O sage Eben Bon- 
abben," cried he; "care and sorrow and sleepless nights 
are the lot of lovers. Allah preserve the princess from 
the blighting influence of this thing called love ! " 

Further intelligence from Toledo corroborated the re- 
port of the owl. The city was a prey to uneasiness and 
alarm. The princess was conveyed to the highest tower 
of the palace, every avenue to which was strongly guarded. 
In the meantime a devouring melancholy had seized upon 
her, of which no one could divine the cause — she refused 
food and turned a deaf ear to every consolation. The 
most skilful physicians had essayed their art in vain ; it 
was thought some magic spell had been practised upon 
her, and the king made proclamation, declaring that who- 
ever should effect her cure should receive the richest jewel 
in the royal treasury. 

When the owl, who was dozing in a corner, heard of 
this proclamation, be rolled his large eyes and looked more 
mysterious than ever. 

" Allah is great ! " exclaimed he, " happy the man that 



154 ^^^ ALHAMBRA. 

shall effect that cure, should he but know what to choose 
from the royal treasury." 

" What mean you, most reverend owl ? " said Ahmed. 

"Hearken, O prince, to what I shall relate. We owls, 
you must know, are a learned body, and much given to 
dark and dusty research. During my late prowling at 
night about the domes and turrets of Toledo, I discovered 
a college of antiquarian owls, who hold their meetings in a 
great vaulted tower where the royal treasury is deposited. 
Here they were discussing the forms and inscriptions and 
designs of ancient gems and jewels, and of golden and sil- 
ver vessels, heaped up in the treasury, the fashion of every 
country and age ; but mostly they were interested about 
certain relics and talismans that have remained in the 
treasury since the time of Roderick the Goth. Among 
these was a box of sandal-wood secured by bands of steel 
of Oriental workmanship, and inscribed with mystic char- 
acters known only to the learned few. This box and its 
inscription had occupied the college for several sessions, 
and had caused much long and grave dispute. At the 
time of my visit a very ancient owl, who had recently 
arrived from Egypt, was seated on the lid of the box, lec- 
turing upon the inscription, and he proved from it that the 
coffer contained the silken carpet of the throne of Solomon 
the Wise ; which doubtless had been brought to Toledo by 
the Jews who took refuge there after the downfall of 
Jerusalem." 

When the owl had concluded his antiquarian harangue, 
the prince remained for a time absorbed in thought. " I 
have heard," said he, " from the sage Eben Bonabben, of 
the wonderful properties of that talisman, which disap- 
peared at the fall of Jerusalem, and was supposed to be 



LL GEND OF PRINCE AHMED AL KAMEL. \ 5 5 

lost to mankind. Doubtless it remains a sealed mystery 
to the Christians of Toledo. If I can get possession of 
that carpet, my fortune is secure." 

The ne.\t day the prince laid aside his rich attire, and 
arrayed himself in the simple garb of an Arab of the 
desert. He dyed his complexion to a tawny hue, and no one 
could have recognized in him the splendid warrior who had 
caused such admiration and dismay at the tournament. 
With staff in hand, and scrip by his side, and a small pas- 
toral reed, he repaired to Toledo, and presenting himself at 
the gate of the royal palace, announced himself as a candi- 
date for the reward offered for the cure of the princess. 
The guards would have driven him away with blows. 
"What can a vagrant Arab like thyself pretend to do,", 
said they, " in a case where the most learned of the land 
have failed .-* " The king, however, overheard the tumult, 
and ordered the Arab to be brought into his presence. 

"Most potent king," said Ahmed, "you behold before 
you a Bedouin Arab, the greater part of whose life has 
been passed in the solitudes of the desert. These soli- 
tudes, it is well known, are the haunts of demons and evil 
spirits, who beset us poor shepherds in our lonely watch- 
ings, enter into and possess our flocks and herds, and 
sometimes render even the patient camel furious ; against 
these, our counter-charm is music; and we have legendary 
airs handed down from generation to generation, that we- 
chant and pipe, to cast forth these evil spirits. I am of a 
gifted line, and possess this power in its fullest force. If 
it be any evil influence of the kind that holds a spell over 
thy daughter, I pledge my head to free her from its sway." 

pas'-tor-al reed : shepherd's pipe, a musical instrument made from the 
joint of a reed. 



156 THE ALHAMBRA. 

The king, who was a man of understanding, and knew 
the wonderful secrets possessed by the Arabs, was inspired 
with hope by the confident language of the prince. He 
conducted him immediately to the lofty tower, secured by 
several doors, in the summit of which was the chamber of 
the princess. The windows opened upon a terrace with 
balustrades, commanding a view over Toledo and all the 
surrounding country. The windows were darkened, for 
the princess lay within, a prey to a devouring grief that 
refused all alleviation. 

The prince seated himself on the terrace, and performed 
several wild Arabian airs on his pastoral pipe, which he 
had learnt from his attendants in the Generalife at Granada. 
The princess continued insensible, and the doctors who 
were present shook their heads, and smiled with incredulity 
and contempt : at length the prince laid aside the reed, 
and, to a simple melody, chanted the love verses of the 
letter which had declared his passion. 

The princess recognized the strain — a fluttering joy 
stole to her heart ; she raised her head and listened ; tears 
rushed to her eyes and streamed down her cheeks ; her 
bosom rose and fell with a tumult of emotions. She would 
have asked for the minstrel to be brought into her presence, 
but maiden coyness held her silent. The king read her 
wishes, and at his command Ahmed was conducted into 
the chamber. The lovers were discreet : they but ex- 
changed glances, yet those glances spoke volumes. Never 
was triumph of music more complete. The rose had 
returned to the soft cheek of the princess, the freshness to 
her lip, and the dewy light to her languishing eyes. 

All the physicians present stared at each other with 
astonishment. The king regarded the Arab minstrel with 



LEGEND OF PRINCE AHMED AL KAMEL. 157 

admiration mixed witli awe. " Wonderful youth ! " ex- 
claimed he, "thou shalt henceforth be the first physician 
of my court, and no other prescription will I take but thy 
melody. For the present receive thy reward, the most 
precious jewel in my treasury." 

" O king," replied Ahmed, " I care not for silver or gold 
or precious stones. One relic hast thou in the treasury, 
handed down from the Moslems who once owned Toledo 
— a box of sandal-wood containing a silken carpet : give 
me that box, and I am content." 

All present were surprised at the moderation of the 
Arab, and still more when the box of sandal-wood was 
brought and the carpet drawn forth. It was of fine green 
silk, covered with Hebrew and Chaldaic characters. The 
court physicians looked at each other, shrugged their 
shoulders, and smiled at the simplicity of this new prac- 
titioner, who could be content with so paltry a fee. 

"This carpet," said the prince, "once covered the throne 
of Solomon the wise ; it is worthy of being placed beneath 
the feet of beauty." 

So saying, he spread it on the terrace beneath an otto- 
man that had been brought forth for the princess ; then 
seating himself at her feet — 

"Who," said he, "shall counteract what is written in 
the book of fate t Behold the prediction of the astrologers 
verified. Know, O king, that your daughter and I have 
long loved each other in secret. Behold in me the Pilgrim 
of Love ! " 

These words were scarcely from his lips when the carpet 
rose in the air, bearing off the prince and princess. The 
king and the physicians gazed after it with open mouths 
and straining eyes until it became a little speck on the 



158 THE ALHAMBRA. 

white bosom of a cloud, and then disappeared in the blue 
vault of heaven. 

The king in a rage summoned his treasurer. " How is 
this," said he, "that thou has suffered an infidel to get 
possession of such a talisman .'' " 

"Alas, sir, we knew not its nature, nor could we de- 
cipher the inscription of the box. If it be indeed the 
carpet of the throne of the wise Solomon, it is possessed 
of magic power, and can transport its owner from place to 
place through the air." 

The king assembled a mighty army, and set off for 
Granada in pursuit of the fugitives. His march was long 
and toilsome. Encamping in the Vega, he sent a herald 
to demand restitution of his daughter. The king himself 
came forth with all his court to meet him. In the king he 
beheld the real minstrel, for Ahmed had succeeded to the 
throne on the death of his father, and the beautiful Alde- 
gonda was his sultana. 

The Christian king was easily pacified when he found 
that his daughter was suffered to continue in her faith ; 
not that he was particularly pious, but religion is always a 
point of pride and etiquette with princes. Instead of 
bloody battles, there was a succession of feasts and re- 
joicings, after which the king returned well pleased to 
Toledo, and the youthful couple continued to reign as 
happily as wisely, in the Alhambra. 

It is proper to add, that the owl and the parrot had 
severally followed the prince by easy stages to Granada ; 
the former travelling by night, and stopping at the various 
hereditary possessions of his family ; the latter figuring \w 
gay circles of every town and city on his route. 

Ahmed gratefully requited the services which they had 



LEGEND OF PRINCE AHMED AL KAMEL. 



'59 



rendered on his pilgrimage. He appointed the owl his 
prime minister, the parrot his master of ceremonies. It is 
needless to say that never was a realm more sagely admin- 
istered, nor a court conducted with more exact punctilio. 

punc-til'-io : most careful observance of nice points of etiquette, or cere- 
mony. 



l6o THE ALHAMBRA. 



LEGEND OF THE MOOR'S LEGACY. 



Just within the fortress of the Alhambra, in front of 
the royal palace, is a broad open esplanade, called the 
Square of the Cisterns, so called from being undermined 
by reservoirs of water, hidden from sight, and which have 
existed from the time of the Moors. At one corner of 
this esplanade is a Moorish well, cut through the living 
rock to a great depth, the water of which is cold as ice 
and clear as crystal. The wells made by the Moors are 
always in repute, for it is well known what pains they took 
to penetrate to the purest and sweetest springs and foun- 
tains. The one of which we now speak is famous through- 
out Granada, insomuch that water-carriers, some bearing 
great water-jars on their shoulders, others driving asses 
before them laden with earthen vessels, are ascending and 
descending the steep woody avenues of the Alhambra, 
from early dawn until a late hour of the night. 

Fountains and wells, ever since the scriptural days, have 
been noted gossiping-places in hot climates ; and at the 
well in question there is a kind of perpetual club kept up 
during the livelong day, by the invalids, old women, and 
other curious do-nothing folk of the fortress, who sit here 
on the stone benches, under an awning spread over the 
well to shelter the toll-gatherer from the sun, and dawdle 

es-pla-nade' : a clear space between a citadel or fortress and the nearest 
houses of the town. 



LEGEND OF THE MOOR'S LEGACY. i6l 

over the gossip of the fortress, and question every water- 
carrier that arrives about the news of the city, and make 
Jong comments on everything they hear and see. Not an 
hour of the day but loitering housewives and idle maid- 
servants may be seen, lingering, with pitcher on head or 
in hand, to hear the last of the endless tattle of these 
worthies. 

Among the water-carriers who once resorted to this well, 
there was a sturdy, strong-backed, bandy-legged little fel- 
low, named Pedro Gil, but called Peregil for shortness, 
who had begun business with merely a great earthen jar 
which he carried upon his shoulder. By degrees he rose 
in the world, and was enabled to purchase a stout shaggy- 
haired donkey. On each side of this his long-eared aid- 
de-camp, in a kind of pannier, were slung his water-jars, 
covered with fig-leaves to protect them from the sun. 
There was not a more industrious water-carrier in all Gra- 
nada, nor one more merry withal. The streets rang with 
his cheerful voice as he trudged after his donkey, singing 
forth the usual summer note thg,t resounds through the 
Spanish towns: " Who wants water — water colder than 
snow .'' Who wants water from the well of the Alhambra, 
cold as ice and clear as crystal.''" When he served a 
customer with a sparkling glass, it was always with a 
pleasant word that caused a smile ; and if, perchance, it 
was a comely dame or dimpling damsel, it was always with 
a compliment to her beauty that was irresistible. Thus 
Peregil was noted throughout all Granada for being one of 
the civilest, pleasantest, and happiest of mortals. Yet it 

ban'-dy-legged : having crooked legs. 

aid'-de-camp : a military term signifying an officer selected by a general 
to carry orders. Here it means merely an assistant. 



l62 THE ALHAMBRA. 

is not he who sings loudest and jokes most that has the 
lightest heart. Under all this air of merriment, honest 
Peregil had his cares and troubles. He had a large fam- 
ily of ragged children to support, who were hungry and 
clamorous as a nest of young swallows, and beset him with 
their outcries for food whenever he came home of an even- 
ing. He had a helpmate, too, who was anything but a 
help to him. She had been a village beauty before mar- 
riage, noted for her skill at dancing the bolero and rattling 
the castanets ; and she still retained her early propensities, 
spending the hard earnings of honest Peregil in frippery, 
and laying the very donkey under requisition for junketing 
parties into the country on Sundays and those innumer- 
able holidays, which are rather more numerous in Spain 
than the days of the week. With all this she was a slat- 
tern and a gossip of the first water ; neglecting house, 
household, and everything else, to loiter sKpshod in the 
houses of her gossip neighbors. 

Peregil bore all the heavy dispensations of wife and 
children with as meek a spirit as his donkey bore the 
water-jars ; and, however he might shake his ears in pri- 
vate, never ventured to question the household virtues of 
his slattern spouse. 

He loved his children, too, even as an owl loves its 
owlets, seeing in them his own image multiplied and per- 
petuated ; for they were a sturdy, long-backed, bandy- 
legged little brood. The great pleasure of honest Peregil 
was, whenever he could afford himself a scanty holiday, 
and had a handful of pennies to spare, to take the whole 
family forth with him, some in his arms, some tugging at 
his skirts, and some trudging at his heels, and to treat 

slat'-tern : a woman who is negligent of her dress or house. 



LEGEND OF THE MOOR'S LEGACY. 163 

them to a gambol among the orchards of the Vega, while 
his wife was dancing with her holiday friends. 

It was a late hour one summer night, and most of the 
water-carriers had desisted from their toils. The day had 
been uncommonly sultry ; the night was one of those 
delicious moonlights which tempt the inhabitants of 
southern climes to indemnify themselves for the heat and 
inaction of the day, by lingering in the open air, and en- 
joying its tempered sweetness until after midnight. Cus- 
tomers for water were therefore still abroad. Peregil, 
like a considerate, painstaking father, thought of his 
hungry children. "One more journey to the well," said 
he to himself, "to earn a Sunday's dinner for the little 
ones." So saying, he trudged manfully up the steep 
avenue of the Alhambra, singing as he went, and now 
and then bestowing a hearty thwack with a cudgel on the 
flanks of his donkey, either by way of cadence to the song, 
or refreshment to the animal ; for dry blows serve instead 
of provender in Spain for all beasts of burden. 

When arrived at the well, he found it deserted by every 
one except a solitary stranger in Moorish garb, seated on 
a stone bench in the moonlight. Peregil paused at first 
and regarded him with surprise, not unmixed with awe. 
but the Moor feebly beckoned him to approach. " I am 
faint and ill," said he; "aid me to return to the city, and 
I will pay thee double what thou couldst gain by thy jars 
of water." 

The honest heart of the little water-carrier was touched 
with compassion at the appeal of the stranger. " God 
forbid," said he, "that I should ask fee or reward for 

ca'-dence : a rhythmical modulation of the voice or of any sound. 
prov'-en-der : provisions. 



1 64 THE ALHAMBRA. 

doing a common act of humanity." He accordingly helped 
the Moor on his donkey, and set off slowly for Granada, the 
poor Moslem being so weak that it was necessary to hold 
him on the animal to keep him from falling to the earth. 

When they entered the city, the water-carrier demanded 
whither he should conduct him. "Alas ! " said the Moor, 
faintly, " I have neither home nor habitation ; I am a 
stranger in the land. Suffer me to lay my head this night 
beneath thy roof and thou shalt be amply repaid." 

Honest Peregil thus saw himself unexpectedly saddled 
with an infidel guest, but he was too humane to refuse a 
night's shelter to a fellow-being in so forlorn a plight ; so 
he conducted the Moor to his dwelling. The children, 
who had sallied forth open-mouthed as usual on hearing 
the tramp of the donkey, ran back with affright when they 
beheld the turbaned stranger, and hid themselves behind 
their mother. The latter stepped forth intrepidly, like 
a ruffling hen before her brood when a vagrant dog 
approaches. 

"What infidel companion," cried she, "is this you have 
brought home at this late hour .'*" 

"Be quiet, wife," replied Peregil; "here is a poor sick 
stranger, without friend or home ; wouldst thou turn him 
forth to perish in the streets } " 

The wife would still have remonstrated, for although 
she lived in a hovel, she was a furious stickler for the credit 
of her house ; the little water-carrier, however, for once 
was stiffnecked, and refused to bend beneath the yoke. 
He assisted the poor Moslem to alight, and spread a mat 
and a sheep-skin for him, on the ground, in the coolest part 
of the house ; being the only kind of bed that his poverty 
afforded. 



LEGEND OF THE MOOR'S LEGACY. 165 

In a little while the Moor was seized with violent con- 
vulsions, which defied all the ministering skill of the simple 
water-carrier. The eye of the poor patient acknowledged 
his kindness. During an interval of his fits he called him 
to his side, and addressing him in a low voice, " My end," 
said he, " I fear is at hand. If I die, I bequeath you this 
box as a reward for your charity :" so saying, he opened 
his cloak, and showed a small box of sandal-wood, strapped 
round his body. " God grant, my friend," replied the 
worthy little water-carrier, "that you may live many years 
to enjoy your treasure, whatever it may be." The Moor 
shook his head ; he laid his hand upon the box, and would 
have said something more concerning it, but his convul- 
sions returned with increasing violence, and in a little 
while he expired. 

The water-carrier's wife was now as one distracted. 
"This comes," said she, "of your foolish good-nature, 
always running into scrapes to oblige others. What will 
become of us when this corpse is found in our house } We 
shall be sent to prison as murderers ; and if we escape 
with our lives, shall be ruined by notaries and constables." 

Poor Peregil was in equal tribulation, and almost re- 
pented himself of having done a good deed. At length 
a thought struck him. "It is not yet day," said he; "I 
can convey the dead body out of the city, and bury it in 
the sands on the banks of the Xenil. No one saw the 
Moor enter our dwelling, and no one will know anything 
of his death." 

So said, so done. The wife aided him ; they rolled the 
body of the unfortunate Moslem in the mat on wliich he 

san'-dal-wood : the highly perfumed yellowish heart-wood of an East In- 
dian and Polynesian tree. 



1 66 THE ALHAMBRA. 

had expired, laid it across the ass, and Peregil set out with 
it for the banks of the river. 

As ill luck would have it, there lived opposite to the 
water-carrier a barber named Pedrillo Pedrugo, one of the 
most prying, tattling, and mischief-making of his gossip 
tribe. He was a weasel-faced, spider-legged varlet, supple 
and insinuating ; he had a universal knowledge of the 
affairs of others, and he had no more power of retention 
than a sieve. It was said that he slept but with one eye 
at a time, and kept one ear uncovered, so that even in his 
sleep he might see and hear all that was going on. Cer- 
tain it is, he was a sort of scandalous chronicle for the 
quidnuncs of Granada, and had more customers than all 
the rest of his fraternity. 

. This meddlesome barber heard Peregil arrive at an un- 
usual hour at niglit, and the exclamations of his wife and 
children. His head was instantly popped out of a little 
window which served him as a look-out, and he saw his 
neighbor assist a man in Moorish garb into his dwelling. 
This was so strange an occurrence, that Pedrillo Pedrugo 
slept not a wink that night. Every five minutes he was 
at his loophole, watching the lights that gleamed through 
the chinks of his neighbor's door, and before daylight he 
beheld Peregil sally forth with his donkey unusuall}* 
laden. 

The inquisitive barber was in a fidget ; he slipped on his 
clothes, and, stealing forth silently, followed the water- 
carrier at a distance, until he saw him dig a hole in the 
sandy bank of the Xenil, and bury something that had the 
appearance of a dead body. 

quid'-nunc (nunk) : Latin, what now? One who is curious to know all 
that is going on. 



LEGEND OF THE MOOR'S LEGACY. 167 

The barber hied him home, and fidgeted about his shop, 
setting everything upside down, until sunrise. He then 
took a basin under his arm, and salHed forth to the house 
of his daily customer the judge. 

The judge was just risen. Pedrillo Pedrugo seated him 
in a chair, threw a napkin round his neck, put a basin of 
hot water under his chin, and began to mollify his beard 
with his fingers. 

" Strange doings ! " said Pedrugo, who played barber 
and newsmonger at the same time, — " strange doings ! 
Robbery, and murder, and burial all in one night ! " 

" Hey ! — how ! — what is that you say .-' " cried the 
judge. 

" I say," replied the barber, rubbing a piece of soap 
over the nose and mouth of the dignitary, for a Spanish 
barber disdains to employ a brush, — "I say that Peregil 
the water-carrier has robbed and murdered a Moorish Mus- 
sulman, and buried him, this blessed night. Accursed be 
the night for the same ! " ' 

" But how do you know all this .'' " demanded the judge. 

"Be patient, Senor, and you shall hear all about it," 
replied Pedrillo, taking him by the nose and sliding a razor 
over his cheek. He then recounted all that he had seen, 
going through both operations at the same time, shaving 
his beard, washing his chin, and wiping him dry with a 
dirty napkin, while he was robbing, murdering, and bury- 
ing the Moslem. 

Now it so happened that this judge was one of the most 
overbearing, and at the same time most griping and cor- 
rupt curmudgeons in all Granada. It could not be denied, 
however, that he set a high value upon justice, for he sold 
it at its weight in gold. He presumed the case in point 



l68 THE ALHAMBRA. 

to be one of murder and robbery ; doubtless there must be 
a rich spoil ; how was it to be secured into the legitimate 
hands of the law ; for as to merely entrapping the delin- 
quent — that would be feeding the gallows ; but entrap- 
ping the booty — that would be enriching the judge, and 
such, according to his creed, was the great end of justice. 
So thinking, he summoned to his presence his trustiest 
constable — a gaunt, hungry-looking varlet, clad, according 
to the custom of his order, in the ancient Spanish garb, a 
broad black beaver turned up at its sides ; a quaint ruff ; a 
small black cloak dangling from his shoulders ; rusty black 
under-clothes that set off his spare, wiry frame, while in 
his hand he bore a slender white wand, the dreaded insignia 
of his office. Such was the legal bloodhound of the ancient 
Spanish breed, that he put upon the traces of the unlucky 
water-carrier, and such was his speed and certainty, that 
he was upon the haunches of poor Peregil before he had 
returned to his dwelling, and brought both him and his 
donkey before the dispenser of justice. 

The judge bent upon him one of the most terrific frowns. 
"Hark ye, culprit!" roared he, in a voice that made the 
knees of the little water-carrier smite together, — "hark 
ye, culprit ! there is no need of denying thy guilt, every- 
thing is known to me. A gallows is the proper reward 
for the crime thou hast committed, but I am merciful, and 
readily listen to reason. The man that has been murdered 
in thy house was a Moor, an infidel, the enemy of our 
faith. It was doubtless in a fit of religious zeal that thou 
hast slain him. I will be indulgent, therefore ; render up 
the property of which thou hast robbed him, and we will 
hush the matter up." 

in-sig'-ni-a : mark or sign; badge of authority. 



LEGEND OF THE MOOR'S LEGACY. 169 

The water-carrier related the whole story of the dying 
Moor with the straightforward simplicity of truth, but 
it was all in vain. " Wilt thou persist in saying," de- 
manded the judge, " that this Moslem had neither gold 
nor jewels, which were the object of thy cupidity ? " 

" As I hope to be saved, your worship," replied the 
water-carrier, " he had nothing but a small box of sandal- 
wood, which he bequeathed to me in reward for my ser- 
vices." 

"A box of sandal-wood; a box of sandal-wood.-'" ex- 
claimed the judge, his eyes sparkling at the idea of precious 
jewels. "And where is this box .-* where have you con- 
cealed it .-^ " 

"An' it please your grace," replied the water-carrier, 
" it is in one of the panniers of my mule, and heartily at 
the service of your worship." 

He had hardly spoken the words, when the keen con- 
stable darted off, and reappeared in an instant with the 
mysterious box of sandal-wood. The judge opened it with 
an eager and trembling hand ; all pressed forward to 
gaze upon the treasure it was expected to contain ; when, 
to their disappointment, nothing appeared within, but a 
parchment scroll, covered with Arabic characters, and an 
end of a waxen taper. 

When there is nothing to be gained by the conviction 
of a prisoner, justice, even in Spain, is apt to be impartial. 
The judge, having recovered from his disappointment, and 
found that there was really no booty in the case, now 
listened dispassionately to the explanation of the water- 

parch'-ment : the skin of a lamb, calf, or other animal prepared for writ- 
ing on. 

scroll : a roll of parchment or paper. 



170 THE ALHAMBRA. 

carrier, which was corroborated by the testimony of his 
wife. Being convinced, therefore, of his innocence, he 
discharged him from arrest ; nay, more, he permitted him 
to carry off the Moor's legacy, the box of sandal-wood and 
its contents, as the well-merited reward of his humanity ; 
but he retained his donkey in payment of costs and 
charges. 

Behold the unfortunate little Peregil reduced once more 
to the necessity of being his own water-carrier, and trudg- 
ing up to the well of the Alhambra with a great earthen 
jar upon his shoulder. 

As he toiled up the hill in the heat of a summer noon, 
his usual good-humor forsook him. "Dog of a judge!" 
would he cry, "to rob a poor man of the means of his 
subsistence, of the best friend he had in the world ! " 
And then at the remembrance of the beloved companion 
of his labors, all the kindness of his nature would break 
forth. "Ah, donkey of my heart!" would he exclaim, 
resting his burden on a stone, and wiping the sweat from 
his brow, — "ah, donkey of my heart ! I warrant me thou 
thinkest of thy old master ! I warrant me thou missest 
the water-jars — poor beast." 

To add to his afflictions, his wife received him, on his 
return home, with whimperings and repinings ; she had 
clearly the vantage-ground of him, having warned him not 
to commit the egregious act of hospitality which had 
brought on him all these misfortunes ; and, like a knowing 
woman, she took every occasion to throw her superior 
sagacity in his teeth. If her children lacked food, or 
needed a new garment, she could answer with a sneer, " Go 

e gre'-gious : ext'-n ordinary, surpassing, usually joined with words of a bad 
sense, as an egregious rascal. 



LEGEND OF THE MOOR'S LEGACY. 171 

to your father — he is heir to king- Chico of the Alhambra : 
ask him to help you out of the Moor's strong box." 

Was ever poor mortal so soundly punished for having 
done a good action ? The unlucky Peregil was grieved in 
flesh and spirit, but still he bore meekly with the railings 
of his spouse. At length, one evening, when, after a hot 
day's toil, she taunted him in the usual manner, he lost 
all patience. He did not venture to retort upon her, but 
his eye rested upon the box of sandal-wood, which lay on 
a shelf with lid half open, as if laughing in mockery at his 
vexation. Seizing it up, he dashed it with indignation to 
the floor. " Unlucky was the day that I ever set eyes on 
thee," he cried, "or sheltered thy master beneath my roof!" 

As the box struck the floor, the lid flew wide open, and 
the parchment scroll rolled forth. 

Peregil sat regarding the scroll for some time in moody 
silence. At length rallying his ideas, "Who knows," 
thought he, " but this writing may be of some importance, 
as the Moor seems to have guarded it with such care .'' " 
Picking it up therefore, he put it in his bosom, and the 
next morning, as he was crying water through the streets, 
he stopped at the shop of a Moor, a native of Tangiers, 
who sold trinkets and perfumery, and asked him to explain 
the contents. 

The Moor read the scroll attentively, then stroked his 
beard and smiled. "This manuscript," said he, " is a form 
of incantation for the recovery of hidden treasure that is 
under the power of enchantment. It is said to have such 
virtue that the strongest bolts and bars, nay the hardest 
rock itself, will yield before it ! " 

in-can-ta'-tion : the act or process of using certain formulas for the pur- 
pose of raising spirits or producing enchantments. 



172 



THE ALHAMBRA. 



" Bah ! " cried Peregil, " what is all that to me ? I am 
no enchanter, and know nothing of buried treasure." So 
saying, he shouldered his water-jar, left the scroll in the 
hands of the Moor, and trudged forward on his daily rounds. 

That evening, however, as he rested himself about twi- 
light at the well of the Alhambra, he found a number of 
gossips assembled at the place, and their conversation, as 
is not unusual at that shadowy hour, turned upon old tales 
and traditions of a supernatural nature. Being all poor as 
rats, they dwelt with peculiar fondness upon the popular 
theme of enchanted riches left by the Moors in various 
parts of the Alhambra. Above all they concurred in the 
belief that there were great treasures buried deep in the 
earth under the tower of the seven floors. 

These stories made an unusual impression on the mind 
of the honest Peregil, and they sank deeper and deeper 
into his thoughts as he returned alone down the dark 
avenues. " If, after all, there should be treasure hid 
beneath that tower : and if the scroll I left with the Moor 
should enable me to get at it ! " In the sudden ecstasy of 
the thought he had well-nigh let fall his water-jar. 

That night he tumbled and tossed, and could scarcely 
get a wink of sleep for the thoughts that were bewildering 
his brain. Bright and early he repaired to the shop of 
the Moor, and told him all that was passing in his mind. 
" You can read Arabic," said he ; " suppose we go together 
to the tower, and try the effect of the charm ; if it fails, 
we are no worse off than before ; but if it succeeds, we 
will share equally all the treasure we may discover." 

" Hold," replied the Moslem ; "this writing is not suffi- 
cient of itself ; it must be read at midnight, by the light 
of a taper singularly compounded and prepared, the ingre- 



LEGEND OF THE MOOR'S LEGACY. 



173 



dients of which are not within my reach. Without such 
a taper the scroll is of no avail." 

" Say no more ! " cried little Peregil ; " I have such a 
taper at hand, and will bring it here in a moment." So 
saying, he hastened home, and soon returned with the end 
of yellow wax taper that he had found in the box of sandal- 
wood. 

The Moor felt it and smelt of it. " Here are rare and 
costly perfumes," said he, " combined with this yellow wax. 
This is the kind of taper specified in the scroll. While 
this burns, the strongest walls and most secret caverns 
will remain open. Woe to him, however, who lingers 
within until it be extinguished. He will remain enchanted 
w^th the treasure." 

It was now agreed between them to try the charm that 
very night. At a late hour, therefore, when nothing was 
stirring but bats and owls, they ascended the woody hill of 
the Alhambra, and approached that awful tower, shrouded 
by trees and rendered formidable by so many traditionary 
tales. By the light of a lantern they groped their way 
through bushes, and over fallen stones, to the door of a 
vault beneath the tower. With fear and trembling they 
descended a flight of steps cut into the rock. It led to an 
empty chamber, damp and drear, from which another flight 
of steps led to a deeper vault. In this way they descended 
four several flights, leading into as many vaults, one below 
the other, but the floor of the fourth was solid ; and 
though, according to tradition, there remained three vaults 
still below, it was said to be impossible to penetrate further, 
the residue being shut up by strong enchantment. The 
air of this vault was damp and chilly, and had an earthy 
smell, and the light scarce cast forth any rays. They 



174 ^^^ ALHAMBRA. 

paused here for a time, in breathless suspense, until they 
faintly heard the clock of the watch-tower strike midnight ; 
upon this they lit the waxen taper, which diffused an odor 
of myrrh and frankincense and storax. 
\^ The Moor began to read in a hurried voice. He had 
scarce finished when there was a noise as of subterraneous 
thunder. The earth shook, and the floor, yawning open, 
disclosed a flight of steps. Trembling with awe, they 
descended, and by the light of the lantern found them- 
selves in another vault covered with Arabic inscriptions. 
In the centre stood a great chest, secured with seven 
bands of steel, at each end of which sat an enchanted 
Moor in armor, but motionless as a statue, being con- 
trolled by the power of the incantation. Before the chest 
were several jars filled with gold and silver and precious 
stones. In the largest of these they thrust their arms up 
to the elbow, and at every dip hauled forth handfuls of 
broad yellow pieces of Moorish gold, or bracelets and 
ornaments of the same precious metal, while occasionally 
a necklace of Oriental pearl would stick to their fingers. 
Still they trembled and breathed short while cramming 
their pockets with the spoils ; and cast many a fearful 
glance at the two enchanted Moors, who sat grim and 
motionless, glaring upon them with unwinking eyes. At 
length, struck with a sudden panic at some fancied noise, 
they both rushed up the staircase, tumbled over one 
another into the upper apartment, overturned and extin- 
guished the waxen taper, and the pavement again closed 
with a thundering sound. 

Filled with dismay, they did not pause until they had 

myrrh, frank'-in-cense, sto'-rax : fragrant, aromatic gums, burned as in- 
cense in religious or other rites. 



LEGEND OF THE MOOR'S LEGACY. 175 

groped their way out of the tower, and beheld the stars 
shining through the trees. Then seating themselves upon 
the grass, they divided the spoil, determining to content 
themselves for the present with this mere skimming of the 
jars, but to return on some future night and drain them to 
the bottom. To make sure of each other's good faith, also, 
they divided the talismans between them, one retaining the 
scroll and the other the taper ; this done, they set off with 
light hearts and well-lined pockets for Granada, 
-rs As they wended their way down the hill, the shrewd 
Moor whispered a word of council in the ear of the simple 
little water-carrier. 

"Friend Peregil," said he, "all this affair must be kept 
a profound secret until we have secured the treasure, and 
conveyed it out of harm's way. If a whisper of it gets to 
the ear of the judge, we are undone ! " 

"Certainly," replied Peregil, " nothing can be more true." 

" Friend Peregil," said the Moor, " you are a discreet 
man, and I make no doubt can keep a secret ; but you have 
a wife." 

" She shall not know a word of it," replied the little 
water-carrier, sturdily, 

" Enough," said the Moor, " I depend upon thy discre- 
tion and thy promise." 

Never was promise more positive and sincere ; but, 
alas ! what man can keep a secret from his wife t Cer- 
tainly not such a one as Peregil the water-carrier, who was 
one of the most loving and tractable of husbands. On 
his return home, he found his wife moping in a corner. 
"Mighty well," cried she as he entered, "you've come at 
last, after rambling about until this hour of the night. I 
wonder you have not brought home another Moor as a 



176 THE ALHAMBRA. 

house-mate." Then bursting into tears, she began to 
wring her hands and smite her breast. " Unhappy- 
woman that I am!" exclaimed she, "what will become 
of me ? My house stripped and plundered by lawyers and 
constables ; my husband a do-no-good, that no longer 
brings home bread to his family, but goes rambling about 
day and night, with infidel Moors ! O my children ! my 
children ! what will become of us ? We shall all have to 
beg in the streets ! " 

Honest Peregil was so moved by the distress of his 
spouse, that he could not help whimpering also. His 
heart was as full as his pocket, and not to be restrained. 
Thrusting his hand into the latter he hauled forth three 
or four broad gold pieces, and slipped them into her 
hand. The poor woman stared with astonishment, and 
could not understand the meaning of this golden shower. 
Before she could recover her surprise, her husband drew 
forth a chain of gold and dangled it before her, capering 
with exultation, his mouth distended from ear to ear. 

" What hast thou been doing, Peregil .-' " exclaimed the 
wife ; " surely thou hast not been committing murder and 
robbery ! " 

The idea scarce entered the brain of the poor woman, 
than it became a certainty with her. She saw a prison 
and a gallows in the distance, and a little bandy-legged 
water-carrier hanging pendent from it ; and, overcome by 
the horrors conjured up by imagination, fell into violent 
hysterics. 

What could the poor man do } He had no other means 
of pacifying his wife, and dispelling the phantoms of her 
fancy, than by relating the whole story of his good for- 
tune. This, however, he did not do until he had exacted 



LEGEND OF THE MOOR'S LEGACY. 177 

from her the most solemn promise to keep it a profound 
secret from every living being. 

To describe her joy would be impossible. She flung 
her arms round the neck of her husband, and almost 
strangled him with her caresses. " Now, wife," exclaimed 
the little man with honest exultation, " what say you now 
to the Moor's legacy ? Henceforth never abuse me for 
helping a fellow-creature in distress." 

The honest Peregil retired to his sheep-skin mat, and 
slept ae soundly as if on a bed of down. Not so his wife ; 
she emptied the whole contents of his pockets upon the 
mat, and sat counting gold pieces of Arabic coin, trying 
on necklaces and earrings, and fancying the figure she 
should one day make when permitted to enjoy her riches. 

On the following morning the honest water-carrier took 
a broad golden coin, and repaired with it to a jeweller's 
shop to offer it for sale, pretending to have found it among 
the ruins of the Alhambra. The jeweller saw that it had 
an Arabic inscription, and was of the purest gold ; he 
offered, however, but a third of its value, with which the 
water-carrier was perfectly content. Peregil now bought 
new clothes for his little flock, and all kinds of toys, 
together with ample provisions for a hearty meal, and 
returning to his dwelling, set all his children dancing 
around him, while he capered in the midst, the happiest of 
fathers. 

The wife of the water-carrier kept her promise of secrecy 
with surprising strictness. For a whole day and a half 
she went about with a look of mystery and a heart swelling 
almost to bursting, yet she held her peace, though sur- 
rounded by her gossips. It is true, she could not help 
giving herself a few airs, apologized for her ragged dress. 



178 THE ALHAMBRA. 

and talked of ordering a new basquina all trimmed with 
gold lace and bugles, and a new lace mantilla. She threw 
out hints of her husband's intention of leaving off his trade 
of water-carrying, as it did not altogether agree with his 
health. In fact she thought they should all retire to the 
country for the summer, that the children might have the 
benefit of che mountain air, for there was no living in the 
city this sultry season. 

The neighbors stared at each other, and thought the 
poor woman had lost her wits ; and her airs and graces and 
elegant pretensions were the theme of universal scoffing 
and merriment among her friends, the moment her back 
was turned. 

If she restrained herself abroad, however, she indemnified 
herself at home, and putting a string of rich Oriental pearls 
round her neck, Moorish bracelets on her arms, and an 
aigrette of diamonds on her head, sailed backwards and 
forwards in her slattern rags about the room, now and then 
stopping to admire herself in a broken mirror. Nay, in the 
impulse of her simple vanity, she could not resist, on one 
occasion, showing herself at the window to enjoy the effect 
of her finery on the passers-by. 

As the fates would have it, Pedrillo Pedrugo, the med- 
dlesome barber, was at this moment sitting idly in his 
shop on the opposite side of the street, when his ever- 
watchful eye caught the sparkle of a diamond. In an 
instant he was at his loophole reconnoitring the slattern 
spouse of the water-carrier, decorated with the splendor of 
an eastern bride. No sooner had he taken an accurate 
inventory of her ornaments, than he posted off with all 
speed to the judge. In a little while the hungry constable 

ai-grette' : a plume or tuft for the head, composed of feathers or gems. 



LEGEND OF THE MOOR'S LEGACY. 



179 



was again on the scent, and before the day was over the 
unfortunate Feregil was once more dragged into the pres- 
ence of the judge. 

"How is this, villain!" cried the judge, in a furious 
voice. "You told me that the infidel who died in your 
house left nothing behind but an empty coffer, and now I 
hear of your wife flaunting in her rags decked out with 
pearls and diamonds. Wretch that thou art ! prepare to 
render up the spoils of thy miserable victim, and to swing 
on the gallows that is already tired of waiting for thee." 

The terrified water-carrier fell on his knees, and made a 
full relation of the marvellous manner in which he had 
gained his wealth. The judge, the constable, and the 
inquisitive barber listened with greedy ears to this Arabian 
tale of enchanted treasure. The constable was dispatched 
to bring the Moor who had assisted in the incantation. 
The Moslem entered half frightened out of his wits at find- 
ing himself in the clutches of the law. When he beheld 
the water-carrier standing with sheepish looks and down- 
cast countenance, he comprehended the whole matter. 
"Miserable animal," said he, as he passed near him, "did 
I not warn thee against babbling to thy wife ? " 

The story of the Moor coincided exactly with that of his 
colleague; but the judge affected to be slow of belief, and 
threw out menaces of imprisonment and rigorous investi- 
gation. 

" Softly, good Sir Judge," said the Mussulman, who by 
this time had recovered his usual shrewdness and self- 
possession. " Let us not mar fortune's favors in the 
scramble for them. Nobody knows anything of this mat- 
ter but ourselves ; let us keep the secret. There is wealth 

cof'-fer : a casket or chest, especially one used for holding money or jewels. 



l8o THE ALHAMBRA. 

enough in the cave to enrich us all. Promise a fair divi- 
sion, and all shall be produced ; refuse, and the cave shall 
remain forever closed." 

The judge consulted apart with the constable. The lat- 
ter was an old fox in his profession. "Promise anything," 
said he, " until you get possession of the treasure. You 
may then seize upon the whole, and if he and his accom- 
plice dare to murmur, threaten them with the fagot and 
the stake as infidels and sorcerers." 

The judge relished the advice. Smoothing his brow 
and turning to the Moor, "This is a strange story," said 
he, "and may be true, but I must have ocular proof of it. 
This very night you must repeat the incantation in my 
presence. If there be really such treasure, we will share 
it amicably between us, and say nothing further of the 
matter ; if ye have deceived me, expect no mercy at my 
hands. In the meantime you must remain in custody." 

The Moor and the water-carrier cheerfully agreed to 
these conditions, satisfied that the event would prove the 
truth of their words. 

Towards midnight the judge sallied forth secretly, 
attended by the constable and the meddlesome barber, all 
strongly armed. They conducted the Moor and the water- 
carrier as prisoners, and were provided with the stout don- 
key of the latter to bear off the expected treasure. They 
arrived at the tower without being observed, and tying the 
donkey to a fig-tree, descended into the fourth vault of the 
tower. 

The scroll was produced, the yellow waxen taper lighted, 
and the Moor read the form of incantation. The earth 
trembled as before, and the pavement opened with a 
thundering sound, disclosing the narrow flight of steps. 



LEGEND OF THE MOOR'S LEGACY. i8l 

The judge, the constable, and the barber were struck 
aghast, and could not summon courage to descend. The 
Moor and the water-carrier entered the lower vault, and 
found the two Moors seated as before, silent and motion- 
less. They removed two of the great jars, filled with 
golden coin and precious stones. The water-carrier bore 
them up one by one upon his shoulders, but though a 
strong-backed little man, and accustomed to carry burdens, 
he staggered beneath their weight, and found, when slung 
on each side of his donkey, they were as much as the ani- 
mal could bear. 

*' Let us be content for the present," said the Moor ; 
" here is as much treasure as we can carry off without 
being perceived, and enough to make us all wealthy to our 
heart's desire." 

" Is there more treasure remaining behind.''" demanded 
the judge. 

"The greatest prize of all," said the Moor, "a huge 
coffer bound with bands of steel, and filled with pearls and 
precious stones." 

" Let us have up the coffer by all means," cried the 
grasping judge. 

"I will descend for no more," said the Moor, doggedly; 
"enough is enough for a reasonable man — more is super- 
fluous." 

"And I," said the water-carrier, "will bring up no fur- 
ther burden to break the back of my poor donkey." 

Finding commands, threats, and entreaties equally vain, 
the judge turned to his two adherents. "Aid me," said 
he, "to bring up the coffer, and its contents shall be 
divided between us." So saying, he descended the steps, 
followed with trembling reluctance by the constable and 
the barber. 



1 82 THE ALHAMBRA. 

No sooner did the Moor behold them fairly earthed 
than he extinguished the yellow taper ; the pavement 
closed with its usual crash, and the three worthies remained 
buried beneath it. 

He then hastened up the different flight of steps, nor 
stopped until in the open air. The little water-carrier 
followed him as fast as his short legs would permit. 

" What hast thou done ? " cried Peregil, as soon as he 
could recover breath. "The judge and the other two are 
shut up in the vault." 

" It is the will of Allah ! " said the Moor, devoutly. 

" And will you not release them V demanded the water- 
carrier. 

" Allah forbid ! " replied the Moor, smoothing his beard. 
" It is written in the book of fate that they shall remain 
enchanted until some future adventurer arrive to break the 
charm. The will of Allah be done ! " so saying, he hurled 
the end of the waxen taper far among the gloomy thickets 
of the glen. 

There was now no remedy ; so the Moor and the water- 
carrier proceeded with the richly laden donkey toward the 
city, nor could honest Peregil refrain from hugging and 
kissing his long-eared fellow-laborer, thus restored to him 
from the clutches of the law ; and, in fact, it is doubtful 
which gave the simple-hearted little man most joy at the 
moment, the gaining of the treasure, or the recovery of 
the donkey. 

The two partners in good luck divided their spoil ami- 
cably and fairly, except that the Moor, who had a little, 
taste for trinketry, made out to get into his heap the most 
of the pearls and precious stones, but then he always gave 
the water-carrier instead magnificent jewels of massy gold, 



LEGEND OF THE MOOR'S LEGACY. 183 

of five times the size, with wliich the latter was heartily- 
content. They took care not to linger within reach of 
accidents, but made off to enjoy their wealth undisturbed 
in other countries. The Moor returned to Africa, to his 
native city of Tangiers, and the water-carrier, with his wife, 
his children, and his donkey, made the best of his way to 
Portugal. Here, under the admonition and tuition of his 
wife, he became a personage of some consequence, for she 
made the worthy little man array his long body and short 
legs in doublet and hose, with a feather in his hat and a 
sword by his side, and laying aside his familiar appellation 
of Peregil, assumed the more sonorous title of Don Pedro 
Gil : his progeny grew up a thriving and merry-hearted, 
though short and bandy-legged generation, while Senora 
Gil, befringed, belaced, and betasselled from her head to 
her heels, with glittering rings on every finger, became a 
model of slattern fashion and finery. 

As to the judge and his associates, they remained shut 
up under the great tower of the seven floors, and there 
they remain spellbound at the present day. Whenever 
there shall be a lack in Spain of meddling barbers, shark- 
ing constables, and corrupt judges, they may be sought 
after ; but if they have to wait until such time for their 
deliverance, there is danger of their enchantment enduring 
until doomsday. 



1 84 THE ALHAMBRA. 



LEGEND OF THE THREE BEAUTIFUL 
PRINCESSES. 



In old times there reigned a Moorish king in Granada, 
whose name was Mohamed, to which his subjects added 
the appellation of "The Left-handed." Some say he was 
so called on account of his being really more expert with 
his sinister than his dexter hand ; others, because he was 
prone to take everything by the wrong end, or, in other 
words, to mar wherever he meddled. Certain it is, either 
through misfortune or mismanagement, he was continually 
in trouble : thrice was he driven from his throne, and on 
one occasion barely escaped to Africa with his life, in the 
disguise of a fisherman. Still he was as brave as he was 
blundering ; and though left-handed, wielded his cimeter 
to such purpose, that he each time reestablished himself 
upon his throne by dint of hard fighting. Instead, how- 
ever, of learning wisdom from adversity, he hardened his 
neck, and stiffened his left arm in wilfulness. The evils 
of a public nature which he thus brought upon himself 
and his kingdom may be learned by those who will delve 
into the Arabian annals of Granada; the present legend 
deals but with his domestic policy. 

sin'-is-ter : disastrous, evil. The left being usually regarded as the unlucky 
side; the left hand is frequently called the sinister hand. 

dex'-ter hand : the right hand. This is generally the more skilful hand, 
hence dexterous, active or expert in the use of body and limbs. 



THREE BEAUTIFUL PRINCESSES. 185 

As this Mohamed was one day riding forth with a train 
of his courtiers, by the foot of the mountain of Elvira, he 
met a band of horsemen returning from a foray into the 
land of the Christians. They were conducting a long 
string of mules laden with spoil, and many captives of 
both sexes, among whom the monarch was struck with the 
appearance of a beautiful damsel, richly attired, who sat 
weeping on a low palfrey, and heeded not the consoling 
words of a duenna who rode beside her. 

The monarch was struck with her beauty, and, on 
inquiring of the captain of the troop, found that she was 
the daughter of the governor of a frontier fortress, that had 
been surprised and sacked in the course of the foray. 
Mohamed claimed her as his royal share of the booty, and 
had her conveyed to the Alhambra. There everything 
was devised to soothe her melancholy ; and the monarch 
sought to make her his queen. The Spanish maid at first 
repulsed his addresses : he was an infidel ; he was the open 
foe of her country ; what was worse, he was stricken in years ! 

The monarch, finding his assiduities of no avail, deter- 
mined to enlist in his favor the duenna, who had been 
captured with the lady. She was an Andalusian by birth, 
whose Christian name is forgotten, being mentioned in 
Moorish legends by no other appellation than that of the 
discreet Kadiga ; and discreet in truth she was, as her 
whole history makes evident. No sooner had the Moorish 
king held a little private conversation with her, than she 
saw at once the cogency of his reasoning, and undertook 
his cause with her young mistress. 

du-en'-na: an elderly woman who is appointed to keep guard over a 
younger one. 

co'-gen-cy : conclusiveness, force. 



1 86 THE ALHAMBRA. 

"Go to, now!" cried she; "what is there in all this to 
weep and wail about ? Is it not better to be mistress of 
this beautiful palace, with all its gardens and fountains, 
than to be shut up within your father's old frontier tower? 
As to this Mohamed being an infidel, what is that to the 
purpose ? You marry him, not his religion ; and if he is 
waxing a little old, the sooner will you be a widow, and 
mistress of yourself ; at any rate, you are in his power, 
and must either be a queen or a slave." 

The arguments of the discreet Kadiga prevailed. The 
Spanish lady dried her tears, and became the spouse of 
Mohamed the Left-handed ; she even conformed, in appear- 
ance, to the faith of her royal husband ; and her discreet 
duenna immediately became a zealous convert to the Mos- 
lem doctrines : it was then the latter received the Arabian 
name of Kadiga, and was permitted to remain in the con- 
fidential employ of her mistress. 

In time the Moorish king was made the proud and 
happy father of three lovely daughters, all born at the 
same time. 

As usual with all Moslem monarchs, he summoned his 
astrologers on this happy event. They cast the nativities 
of the three princesses, and shook their heads. " Daugh- 
ters, O king ! " said they, "are always precarious property; 
but these will most need your watchfulness when they arrive 
at a marriageable age ; at that time gather them under 
your wings, and trust them to no other guardianship." 

spouse : wife. 

to cast one's na-tiv'-i-ty : to find out and represent the position of the 
heavenly bodies at the time of one's birth. This was formerly practised by 
astrologers, or men who studied the stars, and pretended to foretell events by 
their positions. The same thing as to cast one's horoscope. 



THREE BEAUTIFUL PRINCESSES. 187 

Mohamed the Left-handed was acknowledged to be a 
wise king- by his courtiers, and was certainly so considered 
by himself. The prediction of the astrologers caused him 
but little disquiet, trusting to his ingenuity to guard his 
daughters and outwit the Fates. 

The queen died within a few years, bequeathing her 
infant daughters to his love, and to the fidelity of the 
discreet Kadiga. 

Many years had yet to elapse before the princesses 
would arrive at that period of danger — the marriageable 
age. " It is good, however, to be cautious in time," said 
the shrewd monarch ; so he determined to have them 
reared in the royal castle of Salobreiia. This was a sump- 
tuous palace, incrusted, as it were, in a powerful Moorish 
fortress on the summit of a hill overlooking the Mediter- 
ranean sea. It was a royal retreat, in which the Moslem 
monarchs shut up such of their relatives as might endanger 
their safety; allowing them all kinds of luxuries and amuse- 
ments, in the midst of which they passed their lives in 
voluptuous indolence. 

Here the princesses remained, immured frOm the world, 
but surrounded by enjoyment, and attended by female 
slaves who anticipated their wishes. They had delightful 
gardens for their recreation, filled with the rarest fruits 
and flowers, with aromatic groves and perfumed baths. 
On three sides the castle looked down upon a rich valley, 
enriched with all kinds of culture, and bounded by the 
lofty Alpuxarra mountains ; on the other side it overlooked 
the broad sunny sea. 

In this delicious abode, in. a propitious climate, and 

Fates : fabled beings who were supposed to control human destinies. 



1 88 THE ALHAMBRA. 

under a cloudless sky, the three princesses grew up inl") 
wondrous beauty ; but, though all reared alike, they gave 
early tokens of diversity of character. Their names were 
Zayda, Zorayda, and Zorahayda. 

Zayda, the eldest, was of an intrepid spirit, and took the 
lead of her sisters in everything. She was curious and 
inquisitive, and fond of getting at the bottom of things. 

Zorayda had a great feeling for beauty, which was the 
reason, no doubt, of her delighting to regard her own image 
in a mirror or a fountain, and of her fondness for flowers, 
and jewels, and other tasteful ornaments. 

As to Zorahayda, the youngest, she was soft and timid, 
and extremely sensitive, with a vast deal of disposable 
tenderness, as was evident from her number of pet flowers, 
and pet birds, and pet animals, all of which she cherished 
with the fondest care. Her amusements, too, were of a 
gentle nature, and mixed up with musing and reverie. She 
would sit for hours in a balcony, gazing on the sparkling 
stars of a summer's night, or on the sea when lit up by 
the moon ; and at such times, the song of a fisherman, 
faintly heard from the beach, or the notes of a Moorish 
flute from some gliding bark, sufficed to elevate her feel- 
ings into ecstasy. The least uproar of the elements, how- 
ever, filled her with dismay ; and a clap of thunder was 
enough to throw her into a swoon. 

Years rolled on smoothly and serenely ; the discreet 
Kadiga, to whom the princesses were confided, was faith- 
ful to her trust, and attended them with unremitting care. 

The castle of Salobrena, as has been said, was built 
upon a hill on the sea-coast. One of the exterior walls 
straggled down the profile of the hill, until it reached a 
jutting rock overhanging the sea, with a narrow sandy 



THREE BEAUTIFUL PRINCESSES. 



189 



beach at its foot, laved by the rippling billows. A small 
watch-tower on this rock had been fitted up as a pavilion, 
with latticed windows to admit the sea-breeze. Here the 
princesses used to pass the sultry hours of mid-day. 

The curious Zayda was one day seated at a window of 
the pavilion, as her sisters, reclining on ottomans, were 
taking the siesta or noontide slumber. Her attention was 
attracted to a galley which came coasting along, with meas- 
ured strokes of the oar. As it drew near she observed 
that it was filled with armed men. The galley anchored 
at the foot of the tower : a number of Moorish soldiers 
landed on the narrow beach, conducting several Christian 
prisoners. The curious Zayda awakened her sisters, and 
all three peeped cautiously through the close jalousies of 
the lattice which screened them from sight. Among the 
prisoners were three Spanish cavaliers, richly dressed. 
They were in the flower of youth, and of noble presence ; 
and the lofty manner in which they carried themselves, 
though loaded with chains and surrounded with enemies, 
bespoke the grandeur of their souls. The princesses gazed 
with intense and breathless interest. Cooped up as they 
had been in this castle among female attendants, seeing 
nothing of the male sex but black slaves, or the rude fisher- 
men of the sea-coast, it is not to be wondered at that the 
appearance of three gallant cavaliers, in the pride of youth 
and manly beauty, should produce some commotion in their 
bosoms. 

" Did ever nobler being tread the earth than that cav- 
alier in crimson .'' " cried Zayda, the eldest of the sisters. 



gal'-ley : a vessel propelled by oars, whether having sails or not. 
ja-lou-sie' : an inside window-blind with slats. 



IQO THE ALHAMBRA. 

"See how proudly he bears himself, as though all around 
him were his slaves ! " 

"But notice that one in green!" exclaimed Zorayda. 
" What grace ! what elegance ! what spirit ! " 

The gentle Zorahayda said nothing, but she secretly 
gave preference to the cavalier in blue. 

The princesses remained gazing until the prisoners were 
out of sight ; then heaving long-drawn sighs, they turned 
round, looked at each other for a moment, and sat down, 
musing and pensive, on their ottomans. 

The discreet Kadiga found them in this situation ; they 
related what they had seen, and even the withered heart 
of the duenna was warmed. " Poor youths ! " exclaimed 
she, " I'll warrant their captivity makes many a fair and 
high-born lady's heart ache in their native land ! Ah ! my 
children, you have little idea of the life these cavaliers 
lead in their own country. Such sporting at tournaments ! 
such devotion to the ladies ! such courting and serenad- 
ing ! " 

The curiosity of Zayda was fully aroused ; she was 
insatiable in her inquiries, and drew from the duenna the 
most animated pictures of the scenes of her youthful days 
and native land. The beautiful Zorayda bridled up, and 
slyly regarded herself in a mirror, when the theme turned 
upon the charms of the Spanish ladies ; while Zorahayda 
suppressed a struggling sigh at the mention of moonlight 
serenades. 

Every day the curious Zayda renewed her inquiries, and 
every day the sage duenna repeated her stories, which were 
listened to with profound interest, though with frequent 
sighs by her gentle auditors. The discreet old woman 
awoke at length to the mischief she might be doing. She 



THREE BEAUTIFUL PRINCESSES. 191 

had been accustomed to think of the princesses only as 
chilch'en ; but they had imperceptibly ripened beneath her 
eye, and now bloomed before her three lovely damsels of 
the marriageable age. It is time, thought the duenna, to 
give notice to the king. 

Mohamed the Left-handed was seated one morning 
on a divan in a cool hall of the Alhambra, when a slave 
arrived from the fortress of Salobreiia, with a message 
from the sage Kadiga, congratulating him on the anni- 
versary of his daughters' birthday. The slave at the same 
time presented a delicate little basket decorated with 
flowers, within which, on a couch of vine and fig-leaves, 
lay a peach, an apricot, and a nectarine, with their bloom 
and down and dewy sweetness upon them, and all in 
the early stage of tempting ripeness. The monarch was 
versed in the Oriental language of fruits and flowers, 
and rapidly divined the meaning of this emblematical 
offering. 

"So," said he, "the critical period pointed out by the 
astrologers is arrived : my daughters are at a marriageable 
age. What is to be done .-* They are shut up from the 
eyes of men ; they are under the eyes of the discreet 
Kadiga, — all very good, — but still they are not under my 
own eye, as was prescribed by the astrologers : I must 
gather them under my wing, and trust to no other guar- 
dianship." 

So saying, he ordered that a tower of the Alhambra 
should be prepared for their reception, and departed at the 
head of his guards for the fortress of Salobreiia, to conduct 
them home in person. 

About three years had elapsed since Mohamed had be- 
held his daughters, and he could scarcely credit his eyes at 



192 THE ALHAMBRA, 

the wonderful change which that small space of time had 
made in their appearance. During the interval, they had 
passed that wondrous boundary line in female life which 
separates the crude, unformed, and thoughtless girl from 
the blooming, blushing, meditative woman. It is like pass- 
ing from the flat, bleak, uninteresting plains of La Mancha 
to the voluptuous valleys and swelling hills of Andalusia. 

Zayda was tall and finely formed, with a lofty demeanor 
and a penetrating eye. She entered with a stately and 
decided step, and made a profound reverence to Mohamed, 
treating him more as her sovereign than her father. Zo- 
rayda was of the middle height, with an alluring look and 
swimming gait, and a sparkling beauty, heightened by the 
assistance of the toilet. She approached her father with 
a smile, kissed his hand, and saluted him with several 
stanzas from a popular Arabian poet, with which the 
monarch was delighted. Zorahayda was shy and timid, 
smaller than her sisters, and with a beauty of that tender 
beseeching kind which looks for fondness and protection. 
She drew near to her father, with a timid and almost 
faltering step, and would have taken his hand to kiss, but 
on looking up into his face, and seeing it beaming with a 
paternal smile, the tenderness of her nature broke forth, 
and she threw herself upon his neck. 

Mohamed the Left-handed surveyed his blooming daugh- 
ters with mingled pride and perplexity, for while he exulted 
in their charms, he bethought himself of the prediction of 
the astrologers. 

He prepared for his return to Granada, by sending her- 
alds before him, commanding every one to keep out of the 
road by which he was to pass, and that all doors and win- 
dows should be closed at the approach of the princesses. 



THREE BEAUTIFUL PRINCESSES. 193 

This done, he set forth, escorted by a troop of black horse- 
men of hideous aspect, and clad in shining armor. 

The princesses rode beside the king, closely veiled, on 
beautiful white palfreys, with velvet caparisons, embroid- 
ered with gold, and sweeping the ground ; the bits and 
stirrups were of gold, and the silken bridles adorned with 
pearls and precious stones. The palfreys were covered 
with little silver bells, which made the most musical tin- 
kling as they ambled gently along. Woe to the unlucky 
wight, however, who lingered in the way when he heard 
the tinkling of these bells ! — the guards were ordered to 
cut him down without mercy. 

The cavalcade was drawing near to Granada, when it 
overtook, on the banks of the river Xenil, a small body of 
Moorish soldiers with a convoy of prisoners. It was too 
late for the soldiers to get out of the way, so they threw 
themselves on their faces on the earth, ordering their cap- 
tives to do the like. Among the prisoners were the three 
identical cavaliers whom the princesses had seen from the 
pavilion. They either did not understand, or were too 
haughty to obey the order, and remained standing and 
gazing upon the cavalcade as it approached. 

The ire of the monarch was kindled at this flagrant de- 
fiance of his orders. Drawing his cimeter, and pressing 
forward, he was about to deal a left-handed blow that might 
have been fatal to at least one of the gazers, when the 
princesses crowded round him, and implored mercy for the 
prisoners ; even the timid Zorahayda forgot her shyness, 
and became eloquent in their behalf. Mohamed paused, 
with uplifted cimeter, when the captain of the guard threw 
himself at his feet. " Let not your highness," said he, " do 
a deed that may cause great scandal throughout the king- 



194 THE ALHAMBRA. 

clom. These are three brave and noble Spanish knights, 
who have been taken in battle, fighting like lions ; they are 
of high birth, and may bring great ransoms." — " Enough ! " 
said the king. " I will spare their lives, but punish their 
audacity — let them be taken to the Vermilion Towers, 
and put to hard labor." 

Mohamed was making one of his usual left-handed blun- 
ders. In the tumult and agitation of this blustering scene, 
the veils of the three prmcesses had been thrown back, 
and the radiance of their beauty revealed ; and in prolong- 
ing the parley, the king had given that beauty time to 
have its full effect. In those days people fell in love 
much more suddenly than at present, as all ancient stories 
make manifest : it is not a matter of wonder, therefore, 
that the hearts of the three cavaliers were completely cap- 
tured ; especially as gratitude was added to their admira- 
tion ; it is a little singular, however, though no less certain, 
that each of them was enraptured with a different beauty. 
As to the princesses, they were more than ever struck 
with the noble demeanor of the captives, and cherished in 
their breasts all that they had heard of their valor and 
noble lineage. 

The cavalcade resumed its march ; the three princesses 
rode pensively along on their tinkling palfreys, now and 
then stealing a glance behind in search of the Christian 
captives, and the latter were conducted to their allotted 
prison in the Vermilion Towers. 

The residence provided for the princesses was one of the 
most dainty that fancy could devise. It was in a tower 
somewhat apart from the main palace of the Alhambra, 
though connected with it by the wall which encircled the 
whole summit of the hill. On one side it looked into the 



THREE BEAUTIFUL PRINCESSES. 195 

interior of. the fortress, and had, at its foot, a small garden 
filled with the rarest flowers. On the other side it over- 
looked a deep embowered ravine separating the grounds 
of the Alhambra from those of the Generalife. The inte- 
rior of the tower was divided into small fairy apartments, 
beautifully ornamented in the light Arabian style, sur- 
rounding a lofty hall, the vaulted roof of which rose almost 
to the summit of the tower. The walls and the ceilings 
of the hall were adorned with arabesque and fretwork, 
sparkling with gold and with brilliant pencilling. In the 
centre of the marble pavement was an alabaster fountain, 
set round with aromatic shrubs and flowers, and throwing 
up a jet of water that cooled the whole edifice and had a 
lulling sound. Round the hall were suspended cages of 
gold and silver wire, containing singing-birds of the finest 
plumage or sweetest note. 

The princesses had been represented as always cheerful 
when in the Castle of the Salobrena ; the king had expected 
to see them enraptured with the Alhambra. To his sur- 
prise, however, they began to pine, and grow melancholy, 
and dissatisfied with everything around them. The flowers 
yielded them no fragrance, the song of the nightingale 
disturbed their night's rest, and they were out of all 
patience with the alabaster fountain, with its eternal drop- 
drop and splash-splash, from morning till night and from 
night till morning 

The king, who was somewhat of a testy, tyrannical 
disposition, took this at first in high dudgeon ; but he 
reflected that his daughters had arrived at an age when 
the female mind expands and its desires augment. " They 
are no longer children," said he to himself, "they are 
women grown, and require suitable objects to interest 



196 THE ALHAMBRA. 

them." He put in requisition, therefore, all. the dress- 
makers, and the jewellers, and the artificers in gold and 
silver throughout the shops of Granada, and the princesses 
were overwhelmed with robes of silk, and tissue, and bro- 
cade, and cashmere shawls, and necklaces of pearls and 
diamonds, and rings, and bracelets, and anklets, and all 
manner of precious things. 

All, however, was of no avail ; the princesses continued 
pale and languid in the midst of their finery, and looked 
like three blighted rose-buds, drooping from one stalk. 
The king was at his wit's end. He had in general a laud- 
able confidence in his own judgment, and never took advice. 
" The whims and caprices of three marriageable damsels, 
however, are sufficient," said he, "to puzzle the shrewdest 
head." So for once in his life he called in the aid of 
counsel; 

The person to whom he applied was the experienced 
duenna. 

" Kadiga," said the king, " I know you to be one of the 
most discreet women in the whole world, as well as one 
of the most trustworthy ; for these reasons I have always 
continued you about the persons of my daughters. I 
now wish you to find out the secret malady that is prey- 
ing upon the princesses, and to devise some means of 
restoring them to health and cheerfulness." 

Kadiga promised implicit obedience. In fact she knew 
more of the malady of the princesses than they themselves. 
Shutting herself up with them, however, she endeavored 
to insinuate herself into their confidence. 

" My dear children, what is the reason you are so dismal 
and downcast in so beautiful a place, where you have 
everything that heart can wish .'' " 



THREE BEAUTIFUL PRINCESSES. 



197 



The princesses looked vacantly round the apartment, 
and sighed. 

" What more, then, would you have ? Shall I get you 
the wonderful parrot that talks all languages, and is the 
delight of Granada?" 

"Odious!" exclaimed the princess Zayda. "A horrid, 
screaming bird, that chatters words without ideas : one 
must be without brains to tolerate such a pest." 

" Shall I send for a monkey from the rock of Gibraltar, 
to divert you with his antics .' " 

"A monkey! faugh!" cried Zorayda ; "the detestable 
mimic of man. I hate the nauseous animal." 

" What say you to the famous black singer Casem, from 
Morocco .'' They say he has a voice as fine as a woman's." 

" I am terrified at the sight of these black slaves," said 
the delicate Zorahayda ; " besides, I have lost all relish for 
music." 

"Ah ! my child, you would not say so," replied the old 
woman, slyly, "had you heard the music I heard last even- 
ing, from the three Spanish cavaliers whom we met on our 
journey. But bless me, children ! what is the matter that 
you blush so and are in such a flutter .'' " 

"Nothing, nothing, good mother; pray proceed." 

" Well ; as I was passing by the Vermilion Towers last 
evening, I saw the three cavaliers resting after their day's 
labor. One was playing on the guitar, so gracefully, and 
the others sang by turns ; and they did it in such style, 
that the very guards seemed like statues, or men en- 
chanted. Allah forgive me ! I could not help being moved 
at hearing the songs of my native country. And then to 
see three such noble and handsome youths in chains and 
slavery ! " 



198 THE ALHAMBRA. 

Here the kind-hearted old woman could not restrain her 
tears. 

" Perhaps, mother, you could manage to procure us a 
sight of these cavaliers," said Zayda. 

"I think," said Zorayda, "a little music would be quite 
reviving." 

The timid Zorahayda said nothing, but threw her arms 
round the neck of Kadiga. 

" Mercy on me ! " exclaimed the discreet old woman, 
" what are you talking of, my children .'' Your father 
would be the death of us all if he heard of such a thing. 
To be sure, these cavaliers are evidently well-bred, and 
high-minded youths ; but what of that } they are the ene- 
mies of our faith, and you must not even think of them 
but with abhorrence." 

The princesses hung round their old duenna, and coaxed, 
and entreated, and declared that a refusal would break their 
hearts. 

What could she do ? She was certainly the most dis- 
creet old woman in the whole world, and one of the most 
faithful servants to the king ; but was she to see three 
beautiful princesses break their hearts for the mere tin- 
kling of a guitar.^ Besides, though she had been so long 
among the Moors, and changed her faith in imitation of 
her mistress, like a trusty follower, yet she was a Spaniard 
born, and had the lingerings of Christianity in her heart. 
So she set about to contrive how the wish of the princesses 
might be gratified. 

The Christian captives, confined in the Vermilion Towers, 
were under the charge of a big-whiskered, broad-shouldered 
renegado, called Hussein Baba, who was reputed to have a 

ren-e-ga'-do : one faithless to principle or party, especially one who for- 
sakes one religious faith for another. 



THREE BEAUTIFUL PRINCESSES. 



199 



most itching palm. She went to him privately, and slip- 
ping a broad piece of gold into his hand, " Hussein Baba," 
said she ; " my mistresses the three princesses, who are 
shut up in the tower, and in sad want of amusement, have 
heard of the musical talents of the three Spanish cavaliers, 
and are desirous of hearing a specimen of their skill. I 
am sure you are too kind-hearted to refuse them so inno- 
cent a gratification." 

" What ! and to have my head set grinning over the gate 
of my own tower ! for that would be the reward, if the king 
should discover it." 

"No danger of anything of the kind ; the affair may be 
managed so that the whim of the princesses may be grati- 
fied, -and their father be never the wiser. You know the 
deep ravine outside of the walls which passes immediately 
below the tower. Put the three Christians to work there, 
and at the intervals of their labor, let them play and sing, 
as if for their own recreation. In this way the princesses 
will be able to hear them from the windows of the tower, 
and you may be sure of their paying well for your com- 
pliance." 

As the good old woman concluded her harangue, she 
kindly pressed the rough hand of the renegado, and left 
within it another piece of gold. 

Her eloquence was irresistible. The very next day the 
three cavaliers were put to work in the ravine. During 
the noontide heat, when their fellow-laborers were sleeping 
in the shade, and the guard nodding drowsily at his post, 
they seated themselves among the herbage at the foot of 
the tower, and sang a Spanish roundelay to the accompa- 
niment of the guitar. 

round'-e-lay : a tune in which a simple strain is often repeated. 



200 THE ALHAMBRA. 

The glen was deep, the tower was high, but their voices 
rose distinctly in the stillness of the summer noon. The 
princesses listened from their balcony ; they had been taught 
the Spanish language by their duenna, and were moved 
by the tenderness of the song. The discreet Kadiga, on 
the contrary, was terribly shocked. " Allah preserve us ! " 
cried she, "they are singing a love-ditty, addressed to 
yourselves. Did ever mortal hear of such audacity } I 
will run to the slave-master, and have them soundly basti- 
nadoed." 

" What ! bastinado such gallant cavaliers, and for sing- 
ing so charmingly ! " The three beautiful princesses were 
filled with horror at the idea. With all her virtuous indig- 
nation, the good old woman was of a placable nature; and 
easily appeased. Besides, the music seemed to have a 
beneficial effect upon her young mistresses. A rosy bloom 
had already come to their cheeks, and their eyes began to 
sparkle. She made no further objection, therefore, to the 
love-ditty of the cavaliers. 

When it was finished, the princesses remained silent 
for a time ; at length Zorayda took up a lute, and with a 
sweet, though faint and trembling voice, warbled a little 
Arabian air, the burden of which was, "The rose is con- 
cealed among her leaves, but she listens with delight to 
the song of the nightingale." 

From this time forward the cavaliers worked almost daily 
in the ravine. The considerate Hussein Baba became 
more and more indulgent, and daily more prone to sleep 
at his post. For some time a vague intercourse was kept 
up by popular songs and romances, which in some measure 

bas-ti-na'-do : to beat with a stick or cudgel, especially on the soles of the 
feet. An Eastern punishment. 



THREE BEAUTIFUL PRINCESSES. 201 

responded to each other, and breathed the feehngs of the 
parties. By degrees the princesses showed themselves at 
the balcony, when they could do so without being per- 
ceived by the guards. They conversed with the cavaliers 
also, by means of flowers, with the symbolical language of 
which they were mutually acquainted ; the difficulties of 
their intercourse added to its charms, for love delights to 
struggle with difficulties, and thrives the most hardily on 
the scantiest soil. 

The change effected in the looks and spirits of the prin. 
cesses by this secret intercourse surprised and gratified the 
left-handed king ; but no one was more elated than the 
discreet Kadiga, who considered it all owing to her able 
management. 

At length there was an interruption in this telegraphic 
correspondence : for several days the cavaliers ceased to 
make their appearance in the glen. The princesses looked 
out from the tower in vain. In vain they stretched their 
swan-like necks from the balcony ; in vain they sang like 
captive nightingales in their cage : nothing was to be seen 
of their Christian lovers ; not a note responded from the 
groves. The discreet Kadiga sallied forth in quest of in- 
telligence, and soon returned with a face full of trouble. 
" Ah, my children ! " cried she, " I saw what all this would 
come to, but you would have your way ; you may now hang 
up your lutes on the willows. The Spanish cavaliers are 
ransomed by their families ; they are down in Granada, 
and preparing to return to their native country." 

The three beautiful princesses were in despair at the 
tidings. Zayda was indignant at the slight put upon them, 
in thus being deserted without a parting word. Zorayda 
wrung her hands and cried, and looked in the glass and 



202 THE ALHAMBRA. 

wiped away her tears, and cried afresh. The gentle Zora- 
hayda leaned over the balcony and wept in silence, and 
her tears fell drop by drop among the flowers of the bank, 
where the faithless cavaliers had so often been seated. 

The discreet Kadiga did all in her power to soothe their 
sorrow. "Take comfort, my children," said she; "this is 
nothing when you are used it. This is the way of the 
world. Ah ! when you are as old as I am, you will know 
how to value these men. I'll warrant these cavaliers have 
their loves among the Spanish beauties of Cordova and 
Seville, and will soon be serenading under their balconies, 
and thinking no more of the Moorish beauties in the 
Alhambra. Take comfort, therefore, my children, and 
drive them from your hearts." 

The comforting words of the discreet Kadiga only re- 
doubled the distress of the three princesses, and for two 
days they continued inconsolable. On the morning of the 
third the good old woman entered their apartment, all 
ruffling with indignation. 

" Who would have believed such insolence in mortal 
man ! " exclaimed she, as soon as she could find words to 
express herself ; " but I am rightly served for having con- 
nived at this deception of your worthy father. Never talk 
more to me of your Spanish cavaliers." 

" Why, what has happened, good Kadiga } " exclaimed 
the princesses in breathless anxiety. 

" What has happened ? — ^treason has happened ! or, what 
is almost as bad, treason has been proposed ; and to me, 
the most faithful of subjects, the trustiest of duennas ! Yes, 
my children, the Spanish cavaliers have dared to tamper 
with me, that I should persuade you to fly with them to 
Cordova, and become their wives ! " 



THREE BEAUTIFUL PRINCESSES. 203 

Here the excellent old woman covered her face with her 
hands, and gave way to a violent burst of grief and indig- 
nation. The three beautiful princesses turned pale and 
red, pale and red, and trembled, and looked down, and cast 
shy looks at each other, but said nothing. Meantime the 
old woman sat rocking backward and forward in violent 
agitation, and now and then breaking out into exclama- 
tions, — "That ever I should live to be so insulted ! — I, 
the most faithful of servants ! " 

At length the eldest princess, who had most spirit and 
always took the lead, approached her, and laying her hand 
upon her shoulder, " Well, mother," said she, " supposing 
w^e were willing to fly with these Christian cavaliers — is 
such a thing possible ? " 

The good old woman paused suddenly in her grief, and 
looking up, " Possible," echoed she ; " to be sure it is pos- 
sible. Have not the cavaliers already bribed Hussein Baba, 
the renegado captain of the guard, and arranged the whole 
plan ? But, then, to think of deceiving your father ! your 
father, who has placed such confidence in me ! " Here 
the worthy woman gave way to a fresh burst of grief, and 
began again to rock backward and forward, and to wring 
her hands. 

" But our father has never placed any confidence in us," 
said the eldest princess, "but has trusted to bolts and bars, 
and treated us as captives." 

"Why, that is true enough," replied the old woman, 
again pausing in her grief ; " he has indeed treated you 
most unreasonably, keeping you shut up here, to waste 
your bloom in a moping old tower, like roses left to wither 
in a flower-jar. But, then, to fly from your native land ! " 

" And is not the land .we fly to the native land of our 



204 THE ALHAMBRA. 

mother, where we shall live in freedom ? And shall we 
not each have a youthful husband in exchange for a severe 
old father ? " 

" Why, that again is all very true ; and your father, I 
must confess, is rather tyrannical ; but what then," relaps- 
ing into her grief, " would you leave me behind to bear the 
brunt of his vengeance ? " 

" By no means, my good Kadiga ; cannot you fly with 
us ? " 

" Very true, my child ; and to tell the truth, when I 
talked the matter over with Hussein Baba, he promised to 
take care of me, if I would accompany you in your flight ; 
but then, bethink you, my children, are you willing to re- 
nounce the faith of your father ? " 

"The Christian faith was the original faith of our 
mother," said the eldest princess ; " I am ready to em- 
brace it, and so, I am sure, are my sisters." 

" Right again," exclaimed the old woman, brightening 
up ; " it was the original faith of your mother, and bitterly 
did she lament, on her death-bed, that she had renounced it. 
Yes, my children, I too was born a Christian, and have 
remained a Christian in my heart, and am resolved to 
return to the faith. I have talked on the subject with 
Hussein Baba, who is a Spaniard by birth, and comes from 
a place not far from my native town. He is equally anxious 
to see his own country, and to be reconciled to the Church ; 
and the cavaliers have promised that, if we are disposed 
to become man and wife, on returning to our native land, 
they will provide for us handsomely." 

In a word, it appeared that this extremely discreet and 
provident old woman had consulted with the cavaliers and 
the renegado, and had concerted the whole plan of escape. 



THREE BEAUTIFUL PRINCESSES. 205 

The eldest princess immediately assented to it ; and her 
example, as usual, determined the conduct of her sisters. 
It is true the youngest hesitated, for she was gentle and 
timid of soul, and there was a struggle in her bosom be- 
tween filial feeling and youthful passion : the latter, how- 
ever, as usual, gained the victory, and with silent tears and 
stifled sighs she prepared herself for flight. 

The rugged hill on which the Alhambra is built was, 
in old times, perforated with subterranean passages, cut 
through the rock, and leading from the fortress to various 
parts of the city, and to distant sally-ports on the banks 
of the Darro and the Xenil. They had been constructed 
at different times by the Moorish kings, as means of 
escape from sudden insurrections, or of secretly issuing 
forth on private enterprises. Many of them are now 
entirely lost, while others remain, partly choked with rub- 
bish, and partly walled up, — monuments of the jealous 
precautions and warlike stratagems of the Moorish govern- 
ment. By one of these passages Hussein Baba had under- 
taken to conduct the princesses to a sally-port beyond the 
walls of the city, where the cavaliers were to be ready with 
fleet steeds to bear the whole party over the borders. 

The appointed night arrived ; the tower of the prin- 
cesses had been locked up as usual, and the Alhambra was 
buried in deep sleep. Towards midnight the discreet 
Kadiga listened from the balcony of a window that looked 
into the garden. Hussein Baba, the renegado, was already 
below, and gave the appointed signal. The duenna fas- 
tened the end of a ladder of ropes to the balcony, lowered 
it into the garden and descended. The two eldest prin- 

sal'-ly-port : a back gate or door in the outer works of a fortification, 
reached by an underground passage. 



206 THE ALHAMBRA. 

cesses followed her with beating hearts ; but when it came 
to the turn of the youngest princess, Zorahayda, she hesi- 
tated and trembled. Several times she ventured a delicate 
little foot upon the ladder, and as often drew back, while 
her poor little heart fluttered more and more the longer 
she delayed. She cast a wistful look back into the silken 
chamber ; she had lived in it, to be sure, like a bird in a 
cage ; but within it she was secure ; who could tell what 
dangers might beset her, should she flutter forth into the 
wide world ! Now she bethought her of her gallant Chris- 
tian lover, and her little foot was instantly upon the ladder ; 
and anon she thought of her father, and shrank back. But 
fruitless is the attempt to describe the conflict in the bosom 
of one so young and tender and loving, but so timid and 
so ignorant of the world. 

In vain her sisters implored, the duenna scolded, and 
the renegado blasphemed beneath the balcony : the gentle 
little Moorish maid stood doubting and wavering on the 
verge of elopement ; tempted by the sweetness of the sin, 
but terrified at its perils. 

Every moment increased the danger of discovery. A 
distant tramp was heard. " The patrols are walking their 
rounds," cried the renegado; "if we linger, we perish. 
Princess, descend instantly, or we leave you." 

Zorahayda was for a moment in fearful agitation ; then 
loosening the ladder of ropes, with desperate resolution 
she flung it from the balcony. 

"It is decided!" cried she; "flight is now out of my 
power ! Allah guide and bless ye, my dear sisters ! " 

The two eldest princesses were shocked at the thoughts 
of leaving her behind, and would fain have lingered, but 
the patrol was advancing ; the renegado was furious, and 



THREE BEAUTIFUL PRINCESSES. 



207 



they were hurried away to the subterraneoiK passage. 
They groped their way through a fearful labyrinth, cut 
through the heart of the mountain, and succeeded in 
reaching, undiscovered, an iron gate that opened outside 
of the walls. The Spanish cavaliers were waiting to 
receive them, disguised as Moorish soldiers of the guard, 
commanded by the renegado. 

The lover of Zorahayda was frantic when he learned 
that she had refused to leave the tower ; but there was no 
tmie to waste in lamentations. The two princesses were 
placed behind their lovers, the discreet Kadiga mounted 
behind the renegado, and they all set off at a round pace 
in the direction of the Pass of Lope, which leads through 
the mountains towards Cordova. 

They had not proceeded far when they heard the noise 
of drums and trumpets from the battlements of the Al- 
hambra. 

" Our flight is discovered !" said the renegado. 

" We have fleet steeds, the night is dark, and we may 
distance all pursuit," replied the cavaliers. 

They put spurs to their horses, and scoured across the 
Vega. They attained the foot of the mountain of Elvira, 
which stretches like a promontory into the plain. The 
renegado paused and listened. "As yet," said he, "there 
is no one on our traces ; we shall make good our escape to 
the mountains." While he spoke a light blaze sprang up 
on the top of the watch-tower of the Alhambra. 

"Confusion!" cried the renegado, "that bale fire will 
put all the guards of the passes on the alert. Away ! 
away i Spur like mad, — there is no time to be lost." 

bale fire : a signal or alarm fire. 



2o8 THE ALHAMBRA. 

Awa*" they dashed — the clattering of their horses' hoofs 
echoed from rock to rock, as they swept along the road 
that skirts the rocky mountain of Elvira. As they gal- 
loped on, the bale fire of the Alhambra was answered in 
every direction ; light after light blazed on the watch- 
towers of the mountains. 

"Forward! forward!" cried the renegado, with many 
an oath, "to the bridge, — to the bridge, before the alarm 
has reached there ! " 

They doubled the promontory of the mountains, and ar- 
rived in sight of the famous Bridge of Pinos, that crosses 
a rushing stream often dyed with Christian and Moslem 
blood. To their confusion, the tower on the bridge blazed 
with lights and glittered with armed men. The renegado 
pulled up his steed, rose in his stirrups and looked about 
him for a moment ; then beckoning to the cavaliers, he 
struck off from the road, skirted the river for some dis- 
tance, and dashed into its waters. The cavaliers called 
upon the princesses to cling to them, and did the same. 
They were borne for some distance down the rapid cur- 
rent, the surges roared round them, but the beautiful prin- 
cesses clung to their Christian knights, and never uttered 
a complaint. The cavaliers attained the opposite bank in 
safety, and were conducted by the renegado, by rude and 
unfrequented paths and wild ravines, through the heart 
of the mountains, so as to avoid all the regular passes. 
In a word, they succeeded in reaching the ancient city of 
Cordova ; where their restoration to their country and 
friends was celebrated with great rejoicings, for they were 
of the noblest families. The beautiful princesses were 
forthwith received into the Church and were rendered 
happy wives. 



THREE BEAUTIFUL PRINCESSES. 



209 



In our hurry to make good the escape of the princesses 
across the river, and up the mountains, we forgot to men- 
tion the fate of the discreet Kadiga. She had clung Hke 
a cat to Hussein Baba in the scamper across the Vega, 
screaming at every bound, and drawing many an oath 
from the whiskered renegade ; but when he prepared to 
plunge his steed into the river, her terror knew no bounds. 
"Grasp me not so tightly," cried Hussein Baba; "hold on 
by my belt and fear nothing." She held firmly with both 
hands by the leathern belt that girded the broad backed 
renegado ; but when he halted with the cavaliers to take 
breath on the mountain summit, the duenna was no longer 
to be seen. 

" What has become of Kadiga ? " cried the princesses in 
alarm. 

"Allah alone knows ! " replied the renegado ; "my belt 
came loose when in the midst of the river, and Kadiga 
was swept with it down the stream. The will of Allah 
be done ! but it was an embroidered belt, and of great 
price." 

There was no time to waste in idle regrets ; yet bitterly 
did the princesses bewail the loss of their discreet coun- 
sellor. That excellent old woman, however, did not lose 
more than half of her nine lives in the water : a fisherman, 
who was drawing his nets some distance down the stream, 
brought her to land, and was not a little astonished at his 
miraculous draught. What further became of the discreet 
Kadiga, the legend does not mention ; certain it is that 
she evinced her discretion in never venturing within the 
reach of Mohamed the Left-handed. 

Almost as little is known of the conduct of that saga- 
cious monarch when he discovered the escape of his daugh- 



2IO THE ALHAMBRA. 

ters, and the deceit practised upon him by the most faith- 
ful of servants. It was the only instance in which he had 
called in the aid of counsel, and he was never afterwards 
known to be guilty of a similar weakness. He took good 
care, however, to guard his remaining daughter, who had 
no disposition to elope ; it is thought, indeed, that she 
secretly repented having remained behind : now and then 
she was seen leaning on the battlements of the tower, and 
looking mournfully towards the mountains in the direction 
of Cordova, and sometimes the notes of her lute were 
heard accompanying plaintive ditties, in which she was 
said to lament the loss of her sisters and her lover, and to 
bewail her solitary life. She died young, and, according 
to popular rumor, was buried in a vault beneath the tower, 
and her untimely fate has given rise to more than one 
traditionary fable. 



THE ROSE OF THE ALHAMBRA 21 1 



LEGEND OF THE ROSE OF THE ALHAMBRA. 



For some time after the surrender of Granada by the 
Moors, that delightful city was a frequent and favorite res- 
idence of the Spanish sovereigns, until they were fright- 
ened away by successive shocks of earthquakes, which 
toppled down various houses, and made the old Moslem 
towers rock to their foundation. 

Many, many years then rolled away, during which Gra- 
nada was rarely honored by a royal guest. The palaces of 
the nobility remained silent and shut up ; and the Alham- 
bra, like a slighted beauty, sat in mournful desolation 
among her neglected gardens. The Tower of the Prin- 
cesses, once the residence of the three beautiful Moorish 
princesses, partook of the general desolation ; the spider 
spun her web athwart the gilded vault, and bats and owls 
nestled in those chambers that had been graced by the 
presence of Zayda, Zorayda, and Zorahayda. The neglect 
of this tower may have been partly owing to some super- 
stitious notions of the neighbors. It was rumored that 
the spirit of the youthful Zorahayda, who had perished in 
that tower, was often seen by moonlight seated beside the 
fountain in the hall, or moaning about the battlements, 
and that the notes of her silver lute would be heard at 
midnight by wayfarers passing along the glen. 

At length the city of Granada was once more gladdened 



212 THE ALHAMBRA. 

by the royal presence. All the world knows that Philip V. 
was the first Bourbon that swayed the Spanish sceptre. 
All the world knows that he married, in second nuptials, 
Elizabeth, the beautiful princess of Parma ; and all the 
world knows that by this chain of contingencies a French 
prince and an Itahan princess were seated together on the 
Spanish throne. For a visit of this illustrious pair, the 
Alhambra was repaired and fitted up with all possible ex- 
pedition. The arrival of the court changed the whole 
aspect of the lately deserted palace. The clangor of drum 
and trumpet, the tramp of steed about the avenues and 
outer court, the glitter of arms and display of banners 
about barbican and battlement, recalled the ancient and 
warlike glories of the fortress. A softer spirit, however, 
reigned within the royal palace. There was the rustling 
of robes and the cautious tread and murmuring voice of 
reverential courtiers about the ante-chambers ; a loitering 
of pages and maids of honor about the gardens, and the 
sound of music stealing from open casements. 

Among those who attended in the train of the monarchs 
was a favorite page of the queen, named Ruyz de Alarcon. 
To say that he was a favorite page of the queen was at 
once to speak his eulogium, for every one in the suite of 
the stately Elizabeth was chosen for grace, and beauty, 
and accomplishments. He was just turned of eighteen, 
light and lithe of form, and graceful as a young Antinous. 

the first Bourbon : see note 6 

eu-lo'-gi-um : highest praise. 

An-tin'-o-us : a youth of extraordinary beauty, who was the favorite com- 
panion of the Roman emperor Hadrian. He was drowned in the Nile, and 
the emperor enrolled him among the gods, and caused a temple to be erected 
to him at Mantinea. 



THE ROSE OF THE ALHAMBRA. 



213 



To the queen he was all deference and respect, yet he was 
at heart a roguish stripling, petted and spoiled by the 
ladies about the court. 

This loitering page was one morning rambling about the 
groves of the Generalife, which overlook the grounds ot 
the Alhambra. He had taken with him for his amusement 
a favorite ger-falcon of the queen. In the course of his 
rambles, seeing a bird rising from a thicket, he unhooded 
the hawk and let him fly. The falcon towered high in the 
air. made a swoop at his quarry, but missing it, soared 
away, regardless of the calls of the page. The latter fol- 
lowed the truant bird with his eye, in its capricious flight, 
until he saw it alight upon the battlements of a remote 
and lonely tower, in the outer wall of the Alhambra, built 
on the edge of a ravine that separated the royal fortress 
from the grounds of the Generalife. It was in fact the 
"Tower of the Prmcesses." 

The page descended into the ravine and approached the 
tower but it had no entrance from the glen, and its lofty 
height rendered any attempt to scale it fruitless. Seeking 
one of the gates ot the fortress, therefore, he made a wide 
circuit to that side of the tower facing within the walls. 

A small garden, enclosed by a trellis-work of reeds over- 
hung with myrtle, lay before the tower. Opening a wicket, 
the page passed between beds of flowers and thickets of 
roses to the door. It was closed and bolted. A crevice 
in the door gave him a peep into the interior. There was 
a small Moorish hall with fretted walls, light marble col- 

ger'-falcon : a large species of falcon, or hawk, a bird with a short-hooked 
beak, strong claws, and rapid flight. It was formerly trained to the pursuit of 
other birds and game. When at rest its eyes were kept covered by a hood, 
which was removed when it was let loose upon its quarry or prey. 



214 THE ALHAMBRA. 

umns, and an alabaster fountain surrounded with flowers. 
In the centre hung a gilt cage containing a singing-bird ; 
beneath it, on a chair, lay a tortoise-shell cat among reels 
of silk and other articles of female labor, and a guitar 
decorated with ribbons leaned against the fountain. 

Ruyz de Alarcon was struck with these traces of female 
taste and elegance in a lonely, and, as he had supposed, 
deserted tower. They remmded him of the tales of en- 
chanted halls current in the Alhambra ; and the tortoise- 
shell cat might be some spell-bound princess. 

He knocked gently at the door. A beautiful face peeped 
out from a little window above, but was instantly with- 
drawn. He waited, expecting that the door would be 
opened, but he waited in vain ; no footstep was to be heard 
within — all was silent. Had his senses deceived him, or 
was this beautiful apparition the fairy of the tower .-' He 
knocked again, and more loudly. After a little while the 
beaming face once more peeped forth ; it was that of a 
blooming damsel of fifteen. 

The page immediately doffed his plumed bonnet, and 
entreated in the most courteous accents to be permitted 
to ascend the tower in pursuit of his falcon. 

"I dare not open the door, Seilor," replied the little 
damsel, blushing, "my aunt has forbidden it." 

" I do beseech you, fair maid — it is the favorite falcon 
of the queen : I dare not return to the palace without it." 

"Are you then one of the cavaliers of the court } " 

" I am, fair maid ; but I shall lose the queen's favor and 
my place, if I lose this hawk." 

tor'-toise-shell cat : a cat with markings and color resembling a tortoise 
shell. 

bon'-net : this name was formerly applied to a soft cap for men or boys. 



THE ROSE OF THE ALHAMBRA. 21 5 

" It is against you cavaliers of the court my aunt has 
charged me especially to bar the door." 

"Against wicked cavaliers, doubtless, but I am none of 
these, but a simple, harmless page, who will be ruined and 
undone if you deny me this small request." 

The heart of the little damsel was touched by the dis- 
tress of the page. It was a thousand pities he should be 
ruined for the want of so trifling a boon. Surely too he 
could not be one of those dangerous beings whom her aunt 
had described as a species of cannibal, ever on the prowl 
to make prey of thoughtless damsels ; he was gentle and 
modest, and stood so entreatingly with cap in hand, and 
looked so charming. 

The sly page saw that the garrison began to waver, and 
redoubled his entreaties in such moving terms that it was 
not in the nature of mortal maiden to deny him ; so the 
blushing little warden of the tower descended, and opened 
the door with a trembling hand, and if the page had been 
charmed by a mere glimpse of her countenance from the 
window, he was ravished by the full-length portrait now 
revealed to him. 

Her Andalusian bodice and trim basquina set off the 
round but delicate symmetry of her form. Her glossy hair 
was parted on her forehead with scrupulous exactness, and 
decorated with a fresh plucked rose, according to the uni- 
versal custom of the country. It is true her complexion 
was tinged by the ardor of a southern sun, but it served 
to give richness to the mantling bloom of her cheek, and 
to heighten the lustre of her melting eyes. 

Ruyz de Alarcon beheld all this with a single glance, 
for it became him not to tarry ; he merely murmured his 
acknowledgments, and then bounded lightly up the spiral 
staircase in quest of his falcon. 



2l6 THE ALHAMBRA. 

He soon returned with the truant bird upon his fist. 
The damsel, in the meantime, had seated herself by the 
fountain in the hall, and was winding silk ; but in hei agi- 
tation she let fall the reel upon the pavement. The page 
sprang and picked it up, then dropping gracefully on one 
knee, presented it to her ; but, seizing the hand extended 
to receive it, imprinted on it a kiss more fervent and 
devout than he had ever imprinted on the fair hand of his 
sovereign. 

" Senor ! " exclaimed the damsel, blushing still deeper 
with confusion and surprise, for never before had she 
received such a salutation. 

The modest page made a thousand apologies, assuring 
her it was the way at court of expressing the most pro- 
found homage and respect. 

Her anger, if anger she felt, was easily pacified, but her 
agitation and embarrassment continued, and she sat blush- 
ing deeper and deeper, with her eyes cast down upon her 
work, entangling the silk which she attempted to wind. 

The cunning page saw the confusion in the opposite 
camp, and would fain have profited by it, but the fine 
speeches he would have uttered died upon his lips ; his 
attempts at gallantry were awkward and ineffectual ; and 
to his surprise, the adroit page, who had figured with such 
grace and effrontery among the most knowing and expe- 
rienced ladies at court, found himself awed and abashed in 
the presence of a simple damsel of fifteen. 

The diffidence of the page, though genuine, was short- 
lived, and he was recovering his usual ease and confidence, 
when a shrill voice was heard at a distance. 

" My aunt is returning ! " cried the damsel in affright ; 
"I pray you, Seiior, depart." 



THE ROSE OF THE ALHAMBRA. 21/ 

'' Not until you grant me that rose from your hair as a 
remembrance." 

She hastily untwisted the rose from her raven locks. 
"Take it," cried she, agitated and blushing, "but pray 
begone." 

The page took the rose, and at the same time covered 
with kisses the fair hand that gave it. Then, placing the 
flower in his bonnet, and taking the falcon upon his fist, 
he bounded off through the garden, bearing away with him 
the heart of the gentle Jacinta. 

When the vigilant aunt arrived at the tower, she re- 
marked the agitation of her niece, and an air of confusion 
in the hall; but a word of explanation sufficed. "A ger- 
falcon had pursued his prey into the hall." 

" Mercy on us ! to think of a falcon flying into the tower. 
Did ever one hear of so saucy a hawk t Why, the very 
bird in the cage is not safe ! " 

The vigilant Fredegonda was one of the most wary of 
ancient spinsters. She had a becoming terror and distrust 
of what she denominated "the opposite sex," which had 
gradually increased through a long life of celibacy. 

The niece was the orphan of an officer who had fallen 
in the wars. She had been educated in a convent, and 
had recently been transferred from her sacred asylum to 
the immediate guardianship of her aunt, under whose over 
shadowing care she vegetated in obscurity, like an opening 
rose blooming beneath a brier. Nor indeed is this com- 
parison entirely accidental ; for, to tell the truth, her fresh 
and dawning beauty had caught the public eye, even in 
her seclusion, and, with that poetical turn common to the 
people of Andalusia, the peasantry of the neighborhood had 
given her the appellation of "the Rose of the Alhambra." 



2l8 THE ALHAMBRA. 

At length King Philip cut short his sojourn at Granada, 
and suddenly departed with all his train. The vigilant 
Fredegonda watched the royal pageant as it issued forth 
from the Gate of Justice, and descended the great avenue 
leading to the city. When the last banner disappeared 
from her sight, she returned exulting to her tower, for all 
her cares were over. To her surprise a light Arabian steed 
pawed the ground at the wicket-gate of the garden; — to 
her horror she saw through the thicket of roses a youth in 
gayly embroidered dress, at the feet of her niece. At the 
sounds of her footsteps he gave a tender adieu, bounded 
lightly over the barrier of reeds and myrtles, sprang upon 
his horse, and was out of sight in an instant. 

The tender Jacinta, in the agony of her grief, lost all 
thought of her aunt's displeasure. Throwing herself into 
her arms, she broke forth into sobs and tears. 

"Dear aunt'" cried she, "he's gone! — he's gone! — 
he's gone! and I shall never see him more ! " 

"Gone ! — who is gone } — what youth is that I saw at 
your feet t " 

"A queen's page, aunt, who came to bid me farewell." 

" A queen's page, child ! " echoed the vigilant Frede- 
gonda faintly, " and when did you become acquainted with 
the queen's page } " 

" The morning that the ger-falcon came into the tower. 
It was the queen's ger-falcon, and he came in pursuit 
of it." 

"Ah, silly, silly girl ! know that there are no ger-falcons 
half so dangerous as these young prankling pages, and it 
is precisely such simple birds as thee that they pounce 
upon." 

prank'-ling: frolicsome; full of pranks. 



THE ROSE OF THE ALHAMBRA. 



219 



Days, weeks, months elapsed, and nothing more was 
heard of the page. The pomegranate ripened, the vine 
yielded up its fruit, the autumnal rains descended in tor- 
rents from the mountains ; the Sierra Nevada became 
covered with a snowy mantle, and wintry blasts howled 
through the halls of the Alhambra — still he came not. 
The winter passed away. Again the genial spring burst 
forth with song and blossom and balmy zephyr ; the snows 
melted from the mountains, until none remained but on 
the lofty summit of Nevada, glistening through the sultry 
summer air. Still nothing was heard of the forgetful page. 

In the meantime the poor little Jacinta grew pale and 
thoughtful. Her former occupations and amusements were 
abandoned, her silk lay entangled, her guitar unstrung, her 
flowers were neglected, the notes of her bird unheeded, 
and her eyes, once so bright, were dimmed with secret 
weeping. 

"Alas, silly child!" would the staid and immaculate 
Fredegonda say, when she found her niece in one of her 
desponding moods — " did I not warn thee against the 
wiles and deceptions of these men } What couldst thou 
expect, too, from one of a haughty and aspiring family — 
thou an orphan, the descendant of a fallen and impover- 
ished line .'' Be assured, if the youth were true, his father, 
who is one of the proudest nobles about the court, would 
prohibit his union with one so humble and portionless as 
thou. Pluck up thy resolution, therefore, and drive these 
idle notions from thy mind." 

The words of Fredegonda only served to increase the 
melancholy of her niece, but she sought to indulge it in 
private. At a late hour one midsummer night, after her 
aunt had retired to rest, she remained alone in the hall of 



220 THE ALHAMBRA. 

the tower, seated beside the alabaster fountain. It was 
here that the faithless page had first knelt and kissed her 
hand; it was here that he had often vowed eternal fidelity. 
The poor little damsel's heart was overladen with sad and 
tender recollections, her tears began to flow, and slowly 
fell drop by drop into the fountain. By degrees the crystal 
water became agitated, and — bubble — bubble — bubble — 
boiled up and was tossed about, until a female figure, richly 
clad in Moorish robes, slowly rose to view. 

Jacinta was so frightened that she fled from the hall, 
and did not venture to return. The next morning she 
related what she had seen to her aunt, but the good lady 
treated it as a fantasy of her troubled mind, or supposed 
she had fallen asleep and dreamt beside the fountain. 
" Thou hast been thinking of the story of the three Moor- 
ish princesses that once inhabited this tower," continued 
she, "and it has entered into thy dreams." 

"What story, aunt .'' I know nothing of it." 

"Thou hast certainly heard of the three princesses, 
Zayda, Zorayda, and Zorahayda, who were confined in this 
tower by the king their father, and agreed to fly with three 
Christian cavaliers. The two first accomplished their es- 
cape, but the third failed in her resolution, and, it is said, 
died in this tower." 

"I now recollect to have heard of it," said Jacinta, "and 
to have wept over the fate of the gentle Zorahayda." 

"Thou mayest well weep over her fate," continued the 
aunt, " for the lover of Zorahayda was thy ancestor. He 
long bemoaned his Moorish love : but time cured him of 
his grief, and he married a Spanish lady, from whom thou 
art descended." 

Jacinta ruminated upon these words. " That what I 



THE ROSE OF THE ALHAMBRA. 221 

have seen is no fantasy of the brain," said she to herself, 
" I am confident. If indeed it be the spirit of the gentle 
Zorahayda, which I have heard lingers about this tower, 
of what should I be afraid? I'll watch by the fountain 
to-night — perhaps the visit will be repeated." 

Towards midnight, when everything was quiet, she again 
took her seat in the hall. As the bell in the distant watch- 
tower of the Alhambra struck the midnight hour, the foun- 
tain was again agitated ; and bubble — bubble — bubble — 
it tossed about the waters until the Moorish female again 
rose to view. She was young and beautiful ; her dress was 
rich with jewels, and in her hand she held a silver lute. 
Jacinta trembled and was faint, but was reassured by the 
soft and plaintive voice of the apparition, and the sweet 
expression of her pale, melancholy countenance. 

"Daughter of mortality," said she, "what aileth thee.? 
Why do thy tears trouble my fountain, and thy sighs 'and 
plaints disturb the quiet watches of the night .'' " 

" I weep because of the faithlessness of man, and I 
bemoan my solitary and forsaken state." 

" Take comfort ; thy sorrows may yet have an end. 
Thou beholdest a Moorish princess, who, like thee, was 
unhappy in her love. A Christian knight, thy ancestor, 
won my heart, and would have borne me to his native land 
and to -the bosom of his church. I was a convert in my 
heart, but I lacked courage equal to my faith, and lingered 
till too late. For this the evil genii are permitted to have 
power over me, and I remain enchanted in this tower until 
some pure Christian will deign to break the magic spell. 
Wilt thou undertake the task } " 

" I will," replied the damsel, trembling. 

" Come hither then, and fear not ; dip thy hand in the 



222 THE ALHAMBRA. 

fountain, sprinkle the water over me, and baptize me after 
the manner of thy faith ; so shall the enchantment be dis- 
pelled, and my troubled spirit have repose." 

The damsel advanced with faltering steps, dipped her 
hand in the fountain, collected water in the palm, and 
sprinkled it over the pale face of the phantom. 

The latter smiled with ineffable benignity. She dropped 
her silver lute at the feet of Jacinta, crossed her white 
arms upon her bosom, and melted from sight, so that it 
seemed merely as if a shower of dewdrops had fallen into 
the fountain. 

Jacinta retired from the hall filled with awe and wonder. 
She scarcely closed her eyes that night ; but when she 
awoke at daybreak out of a troubled slumber, the whole 
appeared to her like a distempered dream. On descending 
into the hall, however, the truth of the vision was estab- 
lished, for beside the fountain she beheld the silver lute 
glittering in the morning sunshine. 

She hastened to her aunt, to relate all that had befallen 
her, and called her to behold the lute as a testimonial of 
the reality of her story. If the good lady had any linger- 
ing doubts, they were removed when Jacinta touched the 
instrument, for she drew forth such ravishing tones as to 
thaw even the frigid bosom of Fredegonda, that region of 
eternal winter, into a genial flow. Nothing but. super- 
natural melody could have produced such an effect. 

The extraordinary power of the lute became every day 
more and more apparent. The wayfarer passing by the 
tower was detained, and, as it were, spell-bound in breath- 
less ecstasy. The very birds gathered in the neighboring 
trees, and hushing their own strains, listened in charmed 
silence. 



THE ROSE OF THE ALHAMBRA. 



223 



Rumor soon spread the news abroad. The inhabitants 
of Granada thronged to the Alhambra to catch a few notes 
of the transcendent music that floated about the tower of 
The Maidens. 

The lovely little minstrel was at length drawn forth from 
her retreat. The rich and powerful of the land contended 
who should entertain and do honor to her ; or, rather, who 
should secure the charms of her lute to draw fashionable 
throngs to their saloons. Wherever she went her vigilant 
aunt kept a dragon watch at her elbow, awing the throngs 
of impassioned admirers who hung in raptures on her 
strains. The report of her wonderful powers spread from 
city to city. Malaga, Seville, Cordova, all became succes- 
sively mad on the theme ; nothing was talked of through- 
out Andalusia but the beautiful minstrel of the Alhambra. 
How could it be otherwise among a people so musical and 
gallant as the Andalusians, when the lute was magical in 
its powers, and the minstrel inspired by love ! 

While all Andalusia was thus music mad, a different 
mood prevailed at the court of Spain. Philip V., as is 
well known, was a miserable hypochondriac, and subject 
to all kinds of fancies. Sometimes he would keep to his 
bed for weeks together, groaning under imaginary com- 
plaints. At other times he would insist upon abdicating 
his throne, to the great annoyance of his royal spouse, who 
had a strong relish for the splendors of a court and the 
glories of a crown, and guided the sceptre of her imbecile 
lord with an expert and steady hand. 

Nothing was found to be so efficacious in dispelling the 
royal megrims as the power of music ; the queen took care, 

hyp-o-chon'-dri-ac : one affected with extreme melancholy, 
me'-grims : lowness of spirits; whims. 



224 THE ALHAMBRA. 

therefore, to have the best performers, both vocal and in- 
strumental, at hand, and retained the famous Italian singer, 
Farinelli, about the court as a kind of royal physician. 

At the moment we treat of, however, a freak had come 
over the mind of this sapient and illustrious Bourbon that 
surpassed all former vagaries. After a long spell of imagi- 
nary illness, which set all the strains of a whole orchestra 
of court fiddlers at defiance, the monarch fairly, in idea, 
gave up the ghost, and considered himself absolutely dead. 

This would have been harmless enough, and even con- 
venient both to his queen and courtiers, had he been con- 
tent to remain in the quietude befitting a dead man ; but 
to their annoyance he insisted upon having the funeral 
ceremonies performed over him, and, to their inexpressible 
perplexity, began to grow impatient, and to revile bitterly 
at them for negligence and disrespect, in leaving him un- 
buried. What was to be done .'' To disobey the king's 
positive commands was monstrous in the eyes of the obse- 
quious courtiers of a punctilious court — but to obey him, 
and bury him alive, would be downright regicide ! 

In the midst of this fearful dilemma a rumor reached 
the court of the female minstrel who was turning the 
brains of all Andalusia. The queen dispatched missions 
in all haste to summon her to St. Ildefonso, where the 
court at that time resided. 

Within a few days, as the queen with her maids of honor 
was walking in those stately gardens, the far-famed minstrel 
was conducted into her presence. The imperial Elizabeth 
gazed with surprise at the youthful and unpretending 
appearance of the little being that had set the world mad. 

reg'-i-cide : the crime of killing a king. 



THE ROSE OF THE ALHAMBKA. 



225 



She was in her picturesque Andalusian dress, her silver 
lute in hand, and stood with modest and downcast eyes, 
but with a simplicity and freshness of beauty that still 
bespoke her "the Rose of the Alhambra." 

As usual she was accompanied by the ever-vigilant 
Fredegonda, who gave the whole history of her parentage 
and descent to the inquiring queen. If the stately Eliza- 
beth had been interested by the appearance of Jacinta, she 
was still more pleased when she learnt that she was of a 
meritorious though impoverished line, and that her father 
had bravely fallen in the service of the crown. " If thy 
powers equal thy renown," said she, " and thou canst cast 
forth this evil spirit that possesses thy sovereign, thy for- 
tunes shall henceforth be my care, and honors and wealth 
attend thee." 

Impatient to make trial of her skill, she led the way at 
once to the apartment of the moody monarch. 

Jacinta followed with downcast eyes through files of 
guards and crowds of courtiers. They arrived at length 
at a great chamber hung with black. The windows were 
closed to exclude the light of day : a number of yellow 
wax tapers in silver sconces diffused a lugubrious light, 
and dimly revealed the figures of mutes in mourning 
dresses, and courtiers who glided about with noiseless 
step and woe-begone visage. In the midst of a funeral 
bed or bier, his hands folded on his breast, and the tip of 
his nose just visible, lay extended this would-be-buried 
monarch. 

The queen entered the chamber in silence, and pointing 
to a footstool in an obscure corner, beckoned to Jacinta to 
sit down and commence. 

sconce : a fixed hanging or projecting candlestick. 



226 THE ALHAMBRA. 

At first she touched her lute with a faltering hand, but 
gathering confidence and animation as she proceeded, 
drew forth such soft harmony, that all present could 
scarce believe it mortal. As to the monarch, who had 
already considered himself in the world of spirits, he set 
it down for some angelic melody. By degrees the theme 
was varied, and the voice of the minstrel accompanied 
the instrument. She poured forth one of the legendary 
ballads treating of the ancient glories of the Alhambra 
and the achievements of the Moors. Her whole soul 
entered into the theme, for with the recollections of the 
Alhambra was associated the story of her love. The 
funeral-chamber resounded with the animating strain. It 
entered into the gloomy heart of the monarch. He raised 
his head and gazed around : he sat up on his couch, his 
eye began to kindle — at length, leaping upon the floor, 
he called for sword and buckler. 

The triumph of music, or rather of the enchanted lute, 
was complete ; the demon of melancholy was cast forth ; 
and, as it were, a dead man brought to life. The windows 
of the apartment were thrown open ; the glorious efful- 
gence of Spanish sunshine burst into the late lugubrious 
chamber ; all eyes sought the lovely enchantress, but the 
lute had fallen from her hand, she had sunk upon the earth, 
and the next moment was clasped to the bosom of Ruyz 
de Alarcon. 

The nuptials of the happy couple were celebrated soon 
afterwards with great splendor, and the Rose of the Al- 
hambra became the ornament and delight of the court. 
" But hold — not so fast " — I hear the reader exclaim ; 
"this is jumping- to the end of a story at a furious rate! 

lu-gu'-bri-ous : mournful. 



THE ROSE OF THE ALHAMBRA. 22/ 

First let us know how Ruyz de Alarcon managed to ac- 
count to Jacinta for his long neglect?" Nothing more 
easy ; the venerable, time-honored excuse, the opposition 
to his wishes by a proud old father : besides, young people 
who really like one another soon come to an amicable 
understanding, and bury all past grievances when once 
they meet. 

But how was the proud old father reconciled to the 
match ? 

Oh ! as to that, his scruples were easily overcome by a 
word or two from the queen ; especially as dignities and 
rewards were showered upon the blooming favorite of roy- 
alty. Besides, the lute of Jacinta, you know, possessed a 
magic power, and could control the most stubborn head 
and hardest breast. 

And what came of the enchanted lute.'' 

Oh, that is the most curious matter of all, and plainly 
proves the truth of the whole story. That lute remained 
for some time in the family, but was purloined and carried 
off, as was supposed, by the great singer Farinelli, in pure 
jealousy. At his death it passed into other hands in Italy, 
who were ignorant of its mystic powers, and melting down 
the silver, transferred the strings to an old Cremona fiddle. 
The strings still retain something of their magic virtues. 
A word in the reader's ear, but let it go no further : that 
fiddle is now bewitching the whole world, — it is the fiddle 
of Paganini ! 

Paganini (pa-ga-nee'-nee) : a famous Italian violinist. 



228 THE ALHAMBRA. 



THE VETERAN. 



Among the curious acquaintances I made in my rambles 
about the fortress, was a brave and battered old colonel, 
who was nestled like a hawk in one of the Moorish towers. 
His history, which he was fond of telling, was a tissue of 
adventures, mishaps, and vicissitudes. 

He was in America at twelve years of age, and reckoned 
among the most signal and fortunate events of his life, his 
having seen George Washington. Since then he had taken 
a part in all the wars of his country ; he could speak ex- 
perimentally of most of the prisons and dungeons of the 
Peninsula ; had been lamed of one leg, crippled in his 
hands, and so cut up that he was a kind of walking monu- 
ment of the troubles of Spain, on which there was a scar 
for every battle and broil, as every year of captivity was 
notched upon the tree of Robinson Crusoe. The greatest 
misfortune of the brave old cavalier, however, appeared to 
have been his having commanded at Malaga during a time 
of peril and confusion, and been made a general by the 
inhabitants, to protect them from the invasion of the 
French. This had entailed upon him a number of just 
claims upon government, that I feared would employ him 
until his dying day in writing and printing petitions and 
memorials, to the great disquiet of his mind, exhaustion of 
his purse, and penance of his friends ; not one of whom 
could visit him without having: to listen to a mortal doc- 



THE VETERAN. 



229 



umcnt of half an hour in length, and to carry away half a 
dozen pamphlets in his pocket. This, however, is the case 
throughout Spain ; everywhere you meet with some worthy 
wight brooding in a corner, and nursing up some pet griev- 
ance and cherished wrong. Besides, a Spaniard who has a 
lawsuit, or a claim upon government, may be considered as 
furnished with employment for the remainder of his life. 

I visited the veteran in his quarters in the upper part 
of the Wine Tower. His room was small but snug, and 
commanded a beautiful view of the Vega. It was arranged 
with a soldier's precision. Three muskets and a brace of 
pistols, all bright and shining, were suspended against the 
wall, with a sabre and a cane hanging side by side, and 
above them two cocked hats, one for parade, and one for 
ordinary use. A small shelf, containing some, half dozen 
books, formed his library, one of which, a little old mouldy 
volume of philosophical maxims, was his favorite reading. 
This he thumbed and pondered over day by day; applying 
every maxim to his own particular case, provided it had a 
little tinge of wholesome bitterness, and treated of the in- 
justice of the world. 

Yet he was social and kind-hearted, and, provided he could 
be diverted from his wrongs and his philosophy, was an en- 
tertaining companion. I like these old weather-beaten sons 
of fortune, and enjoy their rough campaigning anecdotes. 
In the course of my visits to the one in question, I learnt 
some curious facts about an old military commander of 
the fortress, who seems to have resembled him in some re^ 
spects, and to have had similar fortunes in the wars. These 
particulars have been augmented by inquiries among some 
of the old inhabitants of the place, particularly the father 
of Mateo Ximenes, of whose traditional stories the worthy 
I am about to introduce to the reader was a favorite hero. 



230 THE ALHAMBRA. 



THE GOVERNOR AND THE NOTARY. 



In former times there ruled, as governor of the Alham- 
bra, a doughty old cavalier, who, from having lost one arm 
in the wars, was commonly known by the name of Manco, 
or "The one-armed Governor." He in fact prided himself 
upon being an old soldier, wore his moustaches curled up 
to his eyes, a pair of campaigning boots, and a toledo as 
long as a spit. 

He was,* moreover, exceedingly proud and punctilious, 
and tenacious of all his privileges and dignities. Under 
his sway the immunities of the Alhambra, as a royal resi- 
dence and domain, were rigidly exacted. No one was per- 
mitted to enter the fortress with fire-arms, or even with a 
sword or staff, unless he were of a certain rank ; and every 
horseman was obliged to dismount at the gate, and lead 
his horse by the bridle. Now as the hill of the Alhambra 
rises from the very midst of the city of Granada, it must 
at all times be somewhat irksome to the captain-general, 
who commands the province, to have a petty independent 
post in the very centre of his domains. It was rendered 
the more galling, in the present instance, from the irritable 
jealousy of the old governor, that took fire on the least 

dough'-ty: valiant; strong. 

to-le'-do : a sword made at Toledo in Spain, a city famous for the excellence 
of its weapons. 



THE GOVERNOR AND THE NOTARY. 23 1 

question of authority and jurisdiction; and from the loose 
va<2,rant character of the people who had gradually nestled 
themselves within the fortress, as in a sanctuary, and 
thence carried on a system of roguery and depredation at 
the expense of the honest inhabitants of the city. 

Thus there was a perpetual feud and heart-burning 
between the captain-general and the governor, the more 
virulent on the part of the latter, inasmuch as the smallest 
of two neighboring potentates is always the most captious 
about his dignity. The stately palace of the captain-general 
stood in the Plaza Nueva, immediately at the foot of the 
hill of the Alhambra ; and here was always a bustle and 
parade of guards, and domestics, and city functionaries. 
A beetling bastion of the fortress overlooked the palace 
and public square in front of it ; and on this bastion the old 
governor would occasionally strut backwards and forwards, 
with his toledo girded by his side, keeping a wary eye 
down upon his rival, like a hawk reconnoitering his quarry 
from his nest in a dry tree. 

Whenever he descended into the city, it was in grand 
parade ; on horseback, surrounded by his guards ; or in 
his state coach, an ancient and unwieldy Spanish edifice 
of carved timber and gilt leather, drawn by eight mules, 
with running footmen, outriders, and lackeys ; on which 
occasions he flattered himself he impressed every beholder 
with awe and admiration as vicegerent of the king ; though 
the wits of Granada, particularly those who loitered about 

ju-ris dic'-tion : the power or right of exercising authority. 
sanc'-tu-ary : a sacred spot; a place of refuge and protection. 
vir'-u-lent: very bitter in enmity; actuated by a desire to injure. 
beet'-ling: overhanging. 
vice- ge '-rent: an officer who is deputed to exercise the powers of another. 



232 THE ALHAMBRA. 

the palace of the captain-general, were apt to sneer at his 
petty parade, and, in allusion to the vagrant character of 
his subjects, to greet him with the appellation of "the king 
of the beggars." One of the most fruitful sources of 
dispute between these two doughty rivals was the right 
claimed by the governor to have all things passed free of 
duty through the city that were intended for the use of 
himself or his garrison. By degrees this privilege had 
given rise to extensive smuggling. A nest of smugglers 
took up their abode in the hovels of the fortress and the 
numerous caves in its vicinity, and drove a thriving busi- 
ness under the connivance of the soldiers of the garrison. 

The vigilance of the captain-general was aroused. He 
consulted his legal adviser, a shrewd, meddlesome notary, 
who rejoiced in an opportunity of perplexing the old poten- 
tate of the Alhambra, and involving him in a maze of legal 
subtleties. He advised the captain-general to insist upon 
the right of examining every convoy passing through the 
gates of his city, and penned a long letter for him in vindi- 
cation of the right. Governor Manco was a straightfor- 
ward cut-and-thrust old soldier, who hated a notary worse 
than the devil, and this one in particular worse than all 
other notaries. 

"What!" said he, curling up his moustaches fiercely, 
"does the captain-general set his man of the pen to 
practise confusions upon me .-' I'll let him see an old 
soldier is not to be baffled by schoolcraft." 

He seized his pen and scrawled a short letter, in which, 
without deigning to enter into argument, he insisted on the 

con-ni'-vance : intentional failure or forbearance to discover a fault. 
con'-voy : a guard or escort to protect provisions or other stores in their 
transit from one place to another. 



thb: governor and the notary. 233 

right of transit free of search, and denounced vengeance 
on any custom-house officer who should lay his unhallowed 
hand on any convoy protected by the flag of the Alhambra. 
While this question was agitated between the two poten- 
tates, it so happened that a mule laden with supplies for 
the fortress arrived one day at the gate of Xenil, by which 
it was to traverse a suburb of the city on its way to the 
Alhambra. The convoy was headed by a testy old corporal, 
who had long served under the governor, and was a man 
after his own heart ; as trusty and stanch as an old Toledo 
blade. 

As they approached the gate of the city, the corporal 
placed the banner of the Alhambra on the pack-saddle of 
the mule, and drawing himself up to a perfect perpendicular, 
advanced with his head dressed to the front, but with the 
wary side-glance of a cur passing through hostile ground 
and ready for a snap and a snarl. 

"Who goes there .^ " said the sentinel at the gate. 

" Soldier of the Alhambra!" said the corporal, without 
turning his head. 

" What have you in charge } " 

" Provisions for the garrison." 

"Proceed." 

The corporal marched straight forward, followed by the 
convoy, but had not advanced many paces before a posse 
of custom-house officers rushed out of a small toll-house. 

" Hallo there ! " cried the leader. " Muleteer, halt, and 
open those packages." 

The corporal wheeled round and drew himself up in 
battle array. " Respect the flag of the Alhambra," said 
he ; " these things are for the governor." 

pos'-se : a throng. 



234 1^^^ ALHAMBRA. 

** A fig for the governor and a fig for his flag. Muleteer, 
halt, I say." 

" Stop the convoy at your peril ! " cried the corporal, 
cocking his musket. " Muleteer, proceed." 

The muleteer gave his beast a hearty thwack ; the 
custom-house officer sprang forward and seized the halter ; 
whereupon the corporal levelled his piece and shot him 
dead. 

The street was immediately in an uproar. 

The old corporal was seized, and after undergoing sundry 
kicks, and cuffs, and cudgellings, which are generally given 
impromptu by the mob in Spain as a foretaste of the after 
penalties of the law, he was loaded with irons and con- 
ducted to the city prison, while his comrades were per- 
mitted to proceed with the convoy, after it had been well 
rummaged, to the Alhambra. 

The old governor was in a towering passion when he 
heard of this insult to his flag and capture of his corporal. 
For a time he stormed about the Moorish halls, and vapored 
about the bastions, and looked down fire and sword upon 
the palace of the captain-general. Having vented the first 
ebullition of his wrath, he despatched a message demanding 
the surrender of the corporal, as to him alone belonged the 
right of sitting in judgment on the offences of those under 
his command. The captain-general, aided by the pen of 
the delighted notary, replied at great length, arguing, that, 
as the offence had been committed within the walls of his 
city, and against one of his civil offlcers, it was clearly 
within his proper jurisdiction. The governor rejoined by 
a repetition of his demand ; the captain-general gave a sur- 

im-promp'-tu : off-hand; without previous thought. 
to va'-por : to bluster. 



THE GOVERNOR AND THE NOTARY. 



235 



rejoinder of still greater length and legal acumen ; the 
governor became hotter and more peremptory in his de- 
mands, and the captain-general cooler and more copious 
in his replies ; until the old lion-hearted soldier absolutely 
roared with fury at being thus entangled in the meshes of 
legal controversy. 

While the subtle notary was thus amusing himself at the 
expense of the governor, he was conducting the trial of the 
corporal, who, mewed up in a narrow dungeon of the prison, 
had merely a small grated window at which to show his iron- 
bound visage and receive the consolations of his friends. 

A mountain of written testimony was diligently heaped 
up, according to the Spanish form, by the indefatigable 
notary ; the corporal was completely overwhelmed by it. 
He was convicted of murder, and sentenced to be hanged. 

It was in vain the governor sent down remonstrance 
and menace from the Alhambra. The fatal day was at 
hand, and the corporal was put in the chapel of the prison, 
as is always done with culprits the day before execution, 
that they may meditate on their approaching end and 
repent them of their sins. 

Seeing things drawing to extremity, the old governor 
determined to attend to the affair in person. For this 
purpose he ordered out his carriage of state, and, sur- 
rounded by his guards, rumbled down the avenue of the 
Alhambra into the city. Driving to the house of the 
notary, he summoned him to the portal. 

The eye of the old governor gleamed like a coal at be- 
holding the smirking man of the law advancing with an air 
of exultation. 

sur-re-join'-der: a legal term, meaning to reply to a rejoinder, or reply. 
a-cu'-men : quickness of perception; acuteness. 



236 THE ALHAMBRA. 

"What is this I hear," cried he, "that you are about to 
put'to death one of my soldiers ? " 

"All according to law — all in strict form of justice," 
said the self-sufficient notary, chuckling and rubbing his 
hands ; "I can show your Excellency the written testimony 
in the case." 

"Fetch it hither," said the governor. The notary 
bustled into his office, delighted with having another op- 
portunity of displaying his ingenuity at the expense of the 
hard-headed veteran. He returned with a satchel full of 
papers, and began to read a long deposition with pro- 
fessional volubility. By this time a crowd had collected, 
listening with outstretched necks and gaping mouths. 

" Prithee, man, get into the carriage, out of this pesti- 
lent throng, that I may the better hear thee," said the 
governor. 

The notary entered the carriage, when, in a twinkling, the 
door was closed, the coachman smacked his whip, — mules, 
carriage, guards, and all, dashed off at a thundering rate, 
leaving the crowd in gaping wonderment ; nor did the 
governor pause until he had lodged his prey in one of the 
strongest dungeons of the Alhambra. 

He then sent down a flag of truce in military style, 
proposing a cartel, or exchange of prisoners, — the cor- 
poral for the notary. The pride of the captain-general 
was piqued ; he returned a contemptuous refusal, and 
forthwith caused a gallows, tall and strong, tvj be erected 
in the centre of the Plaza Nueva for the execution of the 
corporal. 

dep-o-si'-tion : the testimony of a witness reduced to writing and signed, 
as given under oath before a judicial officer in answer to questioning and cross- 
questioning. 



THE GOVERNOR AND THE NOTARY. 237 

" Oho ! is that the game ? " said Governor Manco. He 
gave orders, and immediately a gibbet was reared on the 
verge of the great beetHng bastion that overlooked the 
Plaza. " Now," said he, in a message to the captain- 
general, " hang my soldier when you please ; but at the 
same time that he is swung off in the square, look up to 
see your notary dangling against the sky." 

The captain-general was inflexible ; troops were paraded 
in the square ; the drums beat, the bell tolled. An im- 
mense multitude of spectators gathered together to behold 
the execution. On the other hand, the governor paraded 
his garrison on the bastion, and tolled the funeral dirge of 
the notary from the Tower of the Bell. 

The notary's wife pressed through t]ie crowd, with a 
whole progeny of little notaries at her heels, and throwing 
herself at the feet of the captain-general, implored him not 
to sacrifice the life of her husband, and the welfare of her- 
self and her numerous little ones, to a point of pride ; "for 
you know the old governor too well," said she, "to doubt 
that he will put his threat in execution, if you hang the 
soldier." 

The captain-general was overpowered by her tears and 
lamentations. The corporal was sent up to the Alhambra, 
under a guard, in his gallows garb, but with head erect and 
a face of iron. The notary was demanded in exchange, 
according to the cartel. The once bustling and self-suf- 
ficient man of the law was drawn forth from his dungeon 
more dead than alive. All his flippancy and conceit had 
evaporated ; his hair, it is said, had nearly turned gray with 
affright, and he had a downcast, dogged look, as if he still 
felt the halter round his neck. 



238 THE ALHAMBRA. 

The old governor stuck his one arm akimbo, and for a 
moment surveyed him with an iron smile. "Henceforth, 
my friend," said he, " moderate your zeal in hurrying 
others to the gallows ; be not too certain of your safety, 
even though you should have the law on your sicle ; and 
above all, take care how you play off your schoolcraft 
another time upon an old soldier." 

a-kim'-bo : the arms are a-kim-bo when the hands are on the hips, and the 
elbows turned outwards. 



GOVERNOR MANCO AND THE SOLDIER. 239 



GOVERNOR MANCO AND THE SOLDIER. 



s/. 



While Governor Manco, or the "one-armed," kept up a 
show of miUtary state in the Alhambra, he became nettled 
at the reproaches continually cast upon his fortress, of 
being a nestling-place of rogues and smugglers. On a 
sudden, the old potentate determined to reform, and set- 
ting vigorously to work, ejected whole nests of vagabonds 
out of the fortress and the gypsy caves with which the 
surrounding hills are honeycombed. He sent out soldiers, 
also, to patrol the avenues and footpaths, with orders to 
take up all suspicious persons. 

One bright summer morning a patrol, consisting of the 
testy old corporal who had distinguished himself in the 
affair of the notary, a trumpeter, and two privates, was 
seated under the garden-wall of the Generalife, beside the 
road which leads down from the Mountain of the Sun, 
when they heard the tramp of a horse, and a male voice 
singing in rough, though not unmusical tones, an old 
Castilian campaigning-song. 

Presently they beheld a sturdy, sunburnt fellow, clad 
in the ragged garb of a foot-soldier, leading a powerful 
Arabian horse caparisoned in the ancient Morisco fashion. 

Astonished at the sight of a strange soldier descending, 
steed in hand, from that solitary mountain, the corporal 
stepped forth and challenged him. 

" Who goes there .'' " 



240 THE ALHAMBRA. 

"A friend." 

"Who and what are you ? " 

"A poor soldier just from the wars, with a cracked 
crown and empty purse for a reward." 

By this time they were enabled to view him more nar- 
rowly. He had a black patch across his forehead, which, 
with a grizzled beard, added to a certain dare-devil cast 
of countenance, while a slight squint threw into the whole 
an occasional gleam of roguish good-humor. 

Having answered the questions of the patrol, the soldier 
seemed to consider himself entitled to make others in 
return. "May I ask," said he, "what city is that which 
I see at the foot of the hill } " 

"What city!" cried the trumpeter; "come, that's too 
bad. Here's a fellow lurking about the Mountain of the 
Sun, and demands the name of the great city of Granada!" 

" Granada ! can it be possible ? " 

"Perhaps not!" rejoined the trumpeter; "and per- 
haps you have no idea that yonder are the towers of the 
Alhambra." 

"Son of a trumpet," replied the stranger, "do not trifle 
with me ; if this be indeed the Alhambra, I have some 
strange matters to reveal to the governor." 

"You will have an opportunity," said the corporal, "for 
we mean to take you before him." By this time the 
trumpeter had seized the bridle of the steed, the two 
privates had each secured an arm of the soldier, the 
corporal put himself in front, gave the word, " Forward 
— march I " and away they marched for the Alhambra. 

The sight of a ragged foot-soldier and a fine Arabian 
horse, brought in captive by the patrol, attracted the at- 
tention of all the idlers of the fortress, and of those gossip 



GOVERNOR MANCO AND THE SOLDIER. 24 1 

groups that generally assemble about wells and fountains 
at early dawn. The wheel of the cistern paused in its 
rotations, and the slip-shod servant-maid stood gaping, 
with pitcher in hand, as the corporal passed by with his 
prize. A motley train gradually gathered in the rear of 
the escort. 

Knowing nods and winks and conjectures passed from 
one to another. "It is a deserter," said one; "A smug- 
gler," said another; "A robber," said a third; — until it 
was affirmed that a captain of a desperate band of robbers 
had been captured by the prowess of the corporal and his 
patrol. "Well, well," said the old crones, one to another, 
" captain or not, let him get out of the grasp of old Gov- 
ernor Manco if he can, though he is but one-handed." 

Governor Manco was seated in one of the inner halls of 
the Alhambra, taking his morning's cup of chocolate, a 
demure, dark-eyed damsel, the daughter of his house- 
keeper, attending upton him. When word was brought 
that a suspicious stranger had been taken lurking about 
the fortress, and was actually in the outer court, in dur- 
ance of the corporal, waiting the pleasure of his Excel- 
lency, the pride and stateliness of office swelled the bosom 
of the governor. He called for his sword, girded it to his 
side, twirled up his moustaches, took his seat in a large 
high-backed chair, assumed a bitter and forbidding aspect, 
and ordered the prisoner into his presence. The soldier 
was brought in, still closely pinioned by his captors, and 
guarded by the corporal. He maintained, however, a reso- 
lute, self-confident air, and returned the sharp, scrutinizing 
look of the governor with an easy squint, which by no 
means pleased the punctilious old potentate, ly'" 

"Well, culprit," said the governor, after he had regarded 



242 THE ALHAMBRA. 

him for a moment in silence, " what have you to say for 
yourself — who are you ? " 

"A soldier, just from the wars, who has brought away 
nothing but scars and bruises." 

"A soldier — humph — afoot-soldier by your garb. I 
understand you have a fine Arabian horse. I presume 
you brought him too from the wars, besides your scars 
and bruises." 

" May it please your Excellency, I have something 
strange to tell about that horse. Indeed, I have one of 
the most wonderful things to relate. Something too 
that concerns the security of this fortress, indeed of all 
Granada. It is a matter to be imparted only to your 
private ear, or in presence of such only as are in your 
confidence. But I am perfectly willing," said he, "that 
the damsel should remain." 

The governor considered for a moment, and then di- 
rected the corporal and his men to«withdraw, but to post 
themselves outside of the door and be ready at a call. 

When they had withdrawn, the soldier commenced his 
story. He was a fluent, smooth-tongued varlet, and had 
a command of language above his apparent rank. 

" May it please your Excellency," said he, " I am, as I 
before observed, a soldier, and have seen some hard service, 
but my term of enlistment being expired, I was discharged, 
not long since, from the army at Valladolid, and set out on 
foot for my native village in Andalusia. Yesterday even- 
ing the sun went down as I was traversing a great dry 
plain of Old Castile." 

"Hold!" cried the governor, "what is this you say? 
Old Castile is some two or three hundred miles from this." 

" Even so," replied the soldier, coolly. " I told your 



GOVERNOR MAN CO AND THE SOLDIER. 



H3 



Excellency I had strange things to relate ; but not more 
strange than true, as your Excellency will find, if you will 
deign me a patient hearing.' 

" Proceed, culprit," said the governor, twirling up his 
moustaches. 

"As the sun went down," continued the soldier, "I cast 
my eyes about in search of quarters for the night, but 
as far as my sight could reach there were no signs of 
habitation. I saw that I should have to make my bed on 
the naked plain, with my knapsack for a pillow ; but your 
Excellency is an old soldier, and knows that to one who 
has been in the wars, such a night's lodging is no great 
hardship." 

The governor nodded assent, as he drew out his pocket- 
handkerchief to drive away a fiy that buzzed about his 
nose. 

"Well, to make a long story short," continued the sol- 
dier, " I trudged forward for several miles until I came 
to a bridge over a deep ravine, through which ran a little 
thread of water, almost dried up by the summer heat. 
At one end of the bridge was a Moorish tower, the upper 
end all in ruins, but a vault in the foundation quite entire. 
Here, thinks I, is a good place to make a halt ; so I went 
down to the stream, and took a hearty drink, for the water 
was pure and sweet, and I was parched with thirst ; then, 
opening my wallet, I took out an onion and a few crusts, 
which were all my provisions, and seating myself on a 
stone on the margin of the stream, began to make my 
supper, — intending afterwards to quarter myself for the 
night in the vault of the tower ; and capital quarters they 
would have been for a campaigner just from the wars, as 
your Excellency, who is an old soldier, may suppose." 



244 ^^-^ ALHAMBRA. 

"I have put up gladly with worse in my time," said the 
governor, returning his pocket-handkerchief into the hilt 
of his sword. 

" While I was quietly crunching my crust," pursued 
the soldier, " I heard something stir within the vault ; I 
listened — it was the tramp of a horse. By and by a man 
came forth from a door in the foundation of the tower, 
close by the water's edge, leading a powerful horse by 
the bridle. I could not well make out what he was, by 
the starlight. It had a suspicious look to be lurking 
among the ruins of a tower, in that wild, solitary place. 
He might be a mere wayfarer, like myself ; he might be 
a smuggler; he might be a robber! what of that .-* thank 
heaven and my poverty, I had nothing to lose ; so I sat 
still and crunched my crust. 

" He led his horse to the water, close by where I was 
sitting, so that I had a fair opportunity of reconnoitring 
him. To my surprise he was dressed in a Moorish garb, 
with a cuirass of steel, and a polished skull-cap that I 
distinguished by the reflection of the stars upon it. His 
horse, too, was harnessed in the Morisco fashion, with 
great shovel stirrups. He led him, as I said, to the side 
of the stream, into which the animal plunged his head 
almost to the eyes, and drank until I thought he would 
have burst. 

"'Comrade,' said I, 'your steed drinks well; it's a 
good sign when a horse plunges his muzzle bravely into 
the water.' 

"' He may well drink,' said the stranger, speaking with 
a Moorish accent ; ' it is a good year since he had his last 

draught.' \^ QKkjO^/s/\^ 

" ' That beats even the camels I have seen in Africa,' 



GOVERNOR MANCO AND THE SOLDIER. 245 

said I. ' But come, you seem to be something of a soldier, 
will you sit down and take part of a soldier's fare ? ' In 
fact, I felt the want of a companion in this lonely place, 
and was willing to put up with an infidel. Besides as your 
Excellency well knows, a soldier is never very particular 
about the faith of his company, and soldiers of all coun- 
tries are comrades on peaceable ground." 

The governor again nodded assent. 

"Well, as I was saying, I invited him to share my sup- 
per, such as it was, for I could not do less in common 
hospitality. ' I have no time to pause for meat or drink,' 
said he, 'I have a long journey to make before morning.' 

" ' In what direction } ' said I. 

" ' Andalusia,' said he. 

"'Exactly my route,' said I; 'so, as you won't stop 
and eat with me, perhaps you will let me mount and ride 
with you. I see your horse is of a powerful frame ; I'll 
warrant he'll carry double.' 

" ' Agreed,' said the trooper ; and it would not have 
been civil and soldierlike to refuse, especially as I had 
offered to share my supper with him. So up he mounted, 
and up I mounted behind him. 

" ' Hold fast,' said he, ' my steed goes like the wind.' 

" ' Never fear me,' said I, and so off we set. 

" From a walk the horse soon passed to a trot, from a 
trot to a gallop, and from a gallop to a harum-scarum 
scamper. It seemed as if rocks, trees, houses, everything, 
flew hurry-scurry behind us. 

" ' What town is this ? ' said I. 

" ' Segovia,' said he ; and before the word was out of 
his mouth, the towers of Segovia were out of sight. We 
swept up the Guadarama mountains, and down by the 



246 THE ALHAMBRA. 

Escurial ; and we skirted the walls of Madrid, and we 
scoured away across the plains of La Mancha. In this 
way we went up hill and down dale, by towers and cities, 
all buried in deep sleep, and across mountains, and plains, 
and rivers, just glimmering in the starlight. 

" To make a long story short, and not to fatigue your 
Excellency, the trooper suddenly pulled up on the side of 
a mountain. ' Here we are,' said he, ' at the end of our 
journey.' I looked about, but could see no signs of habi- 
tation ; nothing but the mouth of a cavern. While I 
looked I saw multitudes of people in Moorish dresses, 
some on horseback, some on foot, arriving as if borne by 
the wind from all points of the compass, and hurrying 
into the mouth of the cavern like bees into a hive. Be- 
fore I could ask a question, the trooper struck his long 
Moorish spurs into the horse's flanks, and dashed in with 
the throng. We passed along a steep winding way, that 
descended into the very bowels of the mountain. As we 
pushed on, a light began to glimmer up, by little and 
little, like the first glimmerings of day, but what caused 
it I could not discern. It grew stronger and stronger, 
and enabled me to see everything around. I now noticed, 
as we passed along, great caverns, opening to the right 
and left, like halls in an arsenal. In some there were 
shields, and helmets, and cuirasses, and lances, and cime- 
ters, hanging against the walls ; in others there were great 
heaps of warlike munitions and camp-equipages lying upon 
the ground. 

" It would have done your Excellency's heart good, 
being an old soldier, to have seen such grand provision 
for war. Then, in other caverns, there were long rows of 
horsemen armed to the teeth, with lances raised and 



GOVERNOR MANCO AND THE SOLDIER. 247 

banners unfurled, all ready for the field ; but they all sat 
motionless in their saddles, like so many statues. In 
other halls were warriors sleeping on the ground beside 
their horses, and foot-soldiers in groups ready to fall into 
the ranks. All were in old-fashioned Moorish dresses and 
armor. 

" Well, your Excellency, to cut a long story short, we 
at length entered an immense cavern, or I may say pal- 
ace, of grotto-work, the walls of which seemed to be 
veined with gold and silver, and to sparkle with diamonds 
and sapphires and all kinds of precious stones. At the 
upper end sat a Moorish king on a golden throne, with 
his nobles on each side, and a guard of African blacks 
with drawn cimeters. All the crowd that continued to 
flock in, and amounted to thousands and thousands, passed 
one by one before his throne, each paying homage as he 
passed. Some of the multitude were dressed in magnifi- 
cent robes, without stain or blemish, and sparkling with 
jewels; others in burnished and enamelled armor; while 
others were in mouldered and mildewed garments, and in 
armor all battered and dented and covered with rust. 

" I had hitherto held my tongue, for your Excellency 
well knows it is not for a soldier to ask many questions 
when on duty, but I could keep silent no longer. 

'"Prithee, comrade,' said I, 'what is the meaning of 
all this } ' 

"'This,' said the trooper, 'is a great and fearful mys- 
tery. Know, O Christian, that you see before you the 
court and army of Boabdil the last king of Granada.' 

" 'What is this you tell me.-'' cried I. 'Boabdil and his 
court were exiled from the land hundreds of 3^ears agone, 
and all died in Africa.' y^ 



248 ' THE ALHAMBRA. 

" ' So it is recorded in your lying chronicles,' replied 
the Moor ; ' but know that Boabdil and the warriors who 
made the last struggle for Granada were all shut up in the 
mountain by a powerful enchantment. As for the king 
and army that marched forth from Granada at the time of 
the surrender, they were a mere phantom train of spirits 
and demons, permitted to assume those shapes to deceive 
the Christian sovereigns. And furthermore let me tell 
you, friend, that all Spain is a country under the power of 
enchantment. There is not a mountain cave, not a lonely 
watch-tower in the plains, nor ruined castle on the hills, 
but has some spellbound warriors sleeping from age to 
age within its vaults, until the sins are expiated for which 
Allah permitted the dominion to pass for a time out of the 
hands of the faithful. Once every year, on the eve of St. 
John, they are released from enchantment, from sunset to 
sunrise, and permitted to repair here to pay homage to 
their sovereign ! and the crowds which you beheld swarm- 
ing into the cavern are Moslem warriors from their haunts 
in all parts of Spain. For my own part, you saw the 
ruined tower of the bridge in Old Castile, where I have 
now wintered and summered for many hundred years, and 
where I must be back again by daybreak. As to the bat- 
talions of horse and foot which you beheld drawn up in 
array in the neighboring caverns, they are the spellbound 
warriors of Granada. It is written in the book of fate, 
that when the enchantment is broken, Boabdil will de- 
scend from the mountain at the head of this army, resume 
his throne in the Alhambra and his sway of Granada, and 
gathering together the enchanted warriors from all parts of 
Spain, will reconquer the Peninsula and restore it to Mos- 
lem rule.' 



GOVERNOR MANCO AND THE SOLDIER. 



249 



" ' And when shall this happen ? ' said I. 

" * Allah alone knows : we had hoped the day of deliver- 
ance was at hand ; but there reigns at present a vigilant 
governor in the Alhambra, a stanch old soldier, well known 
as Governor Manco. While such a warrior holds com- 
mand of the very outpost, and stands ready to check the 
first irruption from the mountain, I fear Boabdil and his 
soldiery must be content to rest upon their arms.' " 

Here the governor raised himself somewhat perpen- 
dicularly, adjusted his sword, and twirled up his mous- 
taches. 

" To make a long story short, and not to fatigue your 
Excellency, the trooper, having given me this account, 
dismounted from his steed. 

" 'Tarry here,' said he, 'and guard my steed while I go 
and bow the knee to Boabdil.' So saying, he strode away 
among the throng that pressed forward to the throne. 

" ' What's to be done .-* ' thought I, when thus left to my- 
self ; ' shall I wait here until this infidel returns to whisk 
me off on his goblin steed, the Lord knows where ; or shall 
I make the most of my time and beat a retreat from this 
hobgoblin community ? ' A soldier's mind is soon made 
up, as your Excellency well knows. As to the horse, he 
belonged to an avowed enemy of the faith and the realm, 
and was a fair prize according to the rules of war. So 
hoisting myself from the crupper into the saddle, I turned 
the reins, struck the Moorish stirrups into the sides of the 
steed, and put him to make the best of his way out of the 
passage by which he had entered. As we scoured by 
the halls where the Moslem horsemen sat in motionless 
battalions, I thought I heard the clang of armor and a hol- 
low murmur of voices. I gave the steed another taste of 



250 THE A LH AM BRA. 

the stirrups and doubled my speed. There was now a sound 
behind me like a rushing blast ; I heard the clatter of a 
thousand hoofs ; a countless throng overtook me. I was 
borne along in the press, and hurled forth from the mouth 
of the cavern, while thousands of shadowy forms were 
swept off in every direction by the four winds of heaven. 

" In the whirl and confusion of the scene I was thrown 
senseless to the earth. When I came to myself, I was 
lying on the brow of a hill, with the Arabian steed stand- 
ing beside me ; for in falling, my arm had slipped within 
the bridle, which, I presume, prevented his whisking off to 
Old Castile. 

"Your Excellency may easily judge of my surprise, on 
looking round, to behold hedges of aloes and Indian figs 
and other proofs of a southern climate, and to see a great 
city below me, with towers, and palaces, and a grand cathe- 
dral. 

" I descended the hill cautiously, leading my steed, for I 
was afraid to mount him again, lest he should play me 
some slippery trick. As I descended I met with your 
patrol, who let me into the secret that it was Granada that 
lay before me, and that I was actually under the walls of 
the Alhambra, the fortress of the redoubted Governor 
Manco, the terror of all enchanted Moslems. When I 
heard this, I determined at once to seek your Excellency, 
to inform you of all that I had seen, and to warn you of 
the perils that surround and undermine you, that you may 
take measures in time to guard your fortress, and the king- 
dom itself, from this army that lurks in the very bowels of 

the land." ^' ^%SlAxr\^ 

"And prithee, friend, you who are a veteran campaigner, 
and have seen so much service," said the governor, " how 



GOVERNOR MANCO AND THE SOLDIER. 



251 



would you advise me to proceed, in order to prevent this 
evil ? " 

" It is not for a humble private of the ranks," said the 
soldier, modestly, "to pretend to instruct a commander of 
your Excellency's sagacity, but it appears to me that your 
Excellency might cause all the caves and entrances into 
the mountains to be walled up with solid mason-work, so 
that Boabdil and his army might be completely corked up 
in their subterranean habitation." 

The governor now placed his arm akimbo, with his hand 
resting on the hilt of his toledo, fixed his eye upon the 
soldier, and gently wagging his head from one side to the 
other, — 

" So, friend," said he, " then you really suppose I am to 
be gulled with this cock-and-bull story about enchanted 
mountains and enchanted Moors ? Hark ye, culprit ! — 
not another word. An old soldier you may be, but you'll 
find you have an older soldier to deal with, and one not 
easily outgeneralled. Ho ! guards there ! put this fellow 
in irons." 

As they were pinioning the soldier, one of the guards 
felt something of bulk in his pocket, and drawing it forth, 
found a long leathern purse that appeared to be well filled. 
Holding it by one corner, he turned out the contents upon 
the table before the governor, and never did freebooter's 
bag make more gorgeous delivery. Out tumbled rings, 
and jewels, and rosaries of pearls, and sparkling diamond 
crosses, and a profusion of ancient golden coin, some of 
which fell jingling to the floor, and rolled away to the 
uttermost parts of the chamber. 

For a time the functions of justice were suspended ; 
there was a universal scramble after the glittering fugitives. 



252 THE A LH AM BR A. 

The governor alone, who was imbued with true Spanish 
pride, maintained his stately decorum, though his eye 
betrayed a little anxiety until the last coin and jewel was 
restored to the sack. 

" I was just going to tell your Excellency when you 
interrupted me," said the stranger, " that, on taking pos- 
session of the trooper's horse, I unhooked a leathern sack 
which hung at the saddle-bow, and which I presume con- 
tained the plunder of his campaignings in days of old, 
when the Moors overran the country." 

" Mighty well ; at present you will make up your mind 
to take up your quarters in a chamber of the Vermilion 
Towers, which, though not under a magic spell, will hold 
you as safe as any cave of your "enchanted Moors." 

" Your Excellency will do as you think proper," said the 
prisoner, coolly. " I shall be thankful to your Excellency 
for any accommodation in the fortress. A soldier who has 
been in the wars, as your Excellency well knows, is not 
particular about his lodgings. Provided I have a snug 
dungeon and regular rations, I shall manage to make myself 
comfortable. I would only entreat that while your Excel- 
lency is so careful about me, you would have an eye to 
your fortress, and think on the hint I dropped about stop- 
ping up the entrances to the mountain." 

Here ended the scene. The prisoner was conducted to 
a strong dungeon in the Vermilion Towers, the Arabian 
steed was led to his Excellency's stable, and the trooper's 
sack was deposited in his Excellency's strong box. 

To explain these prompt and rigid measures on the part 
of old Governor Manco, it is proper to observe, that about 
this time the Alpuxarra mountains in the neighborhood of 
Granada were terribly infested by a gang of robbers, under 



GOVERNOR MANCO AND THE SOLDIER. 253 

the command of a daring chief named Manuel Borasco, 
who were accustomed to prowl about the country, and 
even to enter the city in various disguises, to gain intel- 
ligence of the departure of convoys of merchandise, or 
travellers with well-lined purses, whom they took care to 
waylay in distant and solitary passes of the road. These 
repeated and daring outrages had awakened the attention of 
the government, and the commanders of the various posts 
had received instructions to be on the alert, and to take 
up all suspicious stragglers. Governor Manco was partic- 
ularly zealous in consequence of the stigma that had been 
cast upon his fortress, and he now doubted not he had 
entrapped some formidable desperado of this gang^ 

In the meantime the story took wind, and became the 
talk, not merely of the fortress, but of the whole city of 
Granada. It was said that the noted robber Manuel Bo- 
rasco, the terror of the Alpuxarras, had fallen into the 
clutches of old Governor Manco, and been cooped up by 
him in a dungeon of the Vermilion Towers ; and every one 
who had been robbed by him flocked to recognize the 
marauder. The Vermilion Towers, as is well known, stand 
apart from the Alhambra on a sister hill, separated from 
the main fortress by the ravine down which passes the 
main avenue. There were no outer walls, but a sentinel 
patrolled before the tower. The window of the chamber 
in which the soldier was confined was strongly grated, and 
looked upon a small esplanade. - Here the good folks of 
Granada repaired to gaze at him, as they would at a laugh- 
ing hyena, grinning through the cage of a menagerie. 
Nobody, however, recognized him for Manuel Borasco, for 

stig'-ma : slur or disgrace. 



254 



THE ALHAMBRA. 



that terrible robber was noted for a ferocious physiognomy, 
and had by no means the good-humored squint of the pris- 
oner. Visitors came not merely from the city, but from 
all parts of the country ; but nobody knew him, and there 
began to be doubts in the minds of the common people 
whether there might not be some truth in his story. That 
Boabdil and his army were shut up in the mountain, was 
an old tradition which many of the ancient inhabitants 
had heard from their fathers. Numbers went up to the 
Mountain of the Sun, in search of the cave mentioned by 
the soldier ; and saw and peeped into the deep dark pit, 
descending, no one knows how far, into the mountain, and 
which remains there to this day — the fabled entrance to 
the subterranean abode of Boabdil. 

By degrees the soldier became popular with the common 
people. A freebooter of the mountains is by no means the 
opprobrious character in Spain that a robber is in any 
other country : on the contrary, he is a kind of chivalrous 
personage in the eyes of the lower classes. There is 
always a disposition, also, to cavil at the conduct of those 
in command ; and many began to murmur at the high- 
handed measures of old Governor Manco, and to look upon 
the prisoner in the light of a martyr. 

The soldier, moreover, was a merry, waggish fellow, 
that had a joke for every one who came near his window, 
and a soft speech for every female. He had procured an 
old guitar also, and would sit by his window and sing 
ballads and love-ditties to the delight of the women of the 
neighborhood, who would assemble on the esplanade in the 
evening and dance to his music. Having trimmed off his 

phys-i-og'-no-my : face; countenance. 



GOVERNOR MANCO AND THE SOLDIER. 255 

rough beard, his sunburnt face found favor in the eyes 
of the fair, and the demure handmaid of the governor 
declared that his squint was perfectly irresistible. This 
kind-hearted damsel had from the first evinced a deep 
sympathy in his fortunes, and having in vain tried to 
mollify the governor, had set to work privately to mitigate 
the rigor of his dispensations. Every day she brought the 
prisoner some crumbs of comfort which had fallen from 
the governor's table, or been abstracted from his larder, 
together with, now and then, a consoling bottle of choice 
wine. 

While this petty treason was going on in the very centre 
of the old governor's citadel, a storm of open war was 
brewing up among his external foes. The circumstance 
of a bag of gold and jewels having been found upon the 
person of the supposed robber, had been reported, with 
many exaggerations, in Granada. A question of territorial 
jurisdiction was immediately started by the governor's 
inveterate rival, the captain-general. He insisted that the 
prisoner had been captured without the precincts of the 
Alhambra, and within the rules of his authority. He de- 
manded his body therefore, and the spoils taken with him. 
The feud ran high ; the governor was furious, and swore, 
rather than surrender his captive, he would hang him up 
within the Alhambra, as a spy caught within the fortress. 

The captain-general threatened to send a body of sol- 
diers to transfer the prisoner from the Vermilion Towers to 
the city. Word was brought late at night to the governor 
of this intention. "Let them come," said he, "they'll 
find me beforehand with them ; he must rise bright and 
early who would take in an old soldier." He accordingly 
issued orders to have the prisoner removed, at daybreak. 



256 THE ALHAMBRA. 

to the donjon-keep within the walls of the Alhambra. 
"And d'ye hear, child," said he to his demure handmaid, 
" tap at my door, and wake me before cock-crowing, that I 
may see to the matter myself." 

The day dawned, the cock crowed, but nobody tapped 
at the door of the governor. The sun rose high above the 
mountain-tops, and glittered in at his casement, ere the 
governor was awakened from his morning dreams by his 
veteran corporal, who stood before him with terror stamped 
upon his iron visage. 

" He's off ! he's gone ! " cried the corporal, gasping for 
breath. 

"Who's off — who's gone.''" 

" The soldier — the robber — the devil, for aught I 
know ; his dungeon is empty, but the door locked : no 
one knows how he has escaped out of it." 

The old governor had scarce time to wince at this news, 
when fresh misfortune broke upon his view. On going 
into his cabinet he found his strong box open, the leather 
purse of the trooper abstracted, and with it a couple of 
corpulent bags of doubloons. 

But how, and which way had the fugitive escaped .-' An 
old peasant who lived in a cottage by the road-side leading 
up into the Sierra, declared that he had heard the tramp of 
a powerful steed just before daybreak, passing up into the 
mountains ; he had looked out at his casement and could just 
distinguish a horseman with a maiden seated before him. 

"Search the stables!" cried Governor Manco. The 
stables were searched ; all the horses were in their stalls, 
excepting the Arabian steed. In his place was a stout 
cudgel, tied to the manger, ami on it a label bearing these 
words, "A Gift to Governor Manco, from an Old Soldier." 



CRUSADE OF THE GRAND MASTER. 257 



THE CRUSADE OF THE GRAND MASTER OF 
ALCANTARA. 



"^ In the course of a morning's research among the old 
chronicles in the Library of the University, I came upon 
a little episode in the history of Granada, so strongly 
characteristic of the bigot zeal which sometimes inflamed 
the Christian enterprises against this splendid but devoted 
city, that I was tempted to draw it forth from the parch- 
ment-bound volume in which it lay entombed, and submit 
it to the reader. 

In the year 1394, there was a valiant and devout grand 
master of Alcantara, named Martin Yanez de Barbudo, 
who was inflamed with a vehement desire to serve God 
and fight the Moors. Unfortunately for this brave and 
pious cavalier, a profound peace existed between the 
Christian and Moslem powers. Henry III. had just as- 
cended the throne of Castile, and Yusef ben Mohammed 
had succeeded to the throne of Granada, and both were 
disposed to continue the peace which had prevailed be- 
tween their fathers. The grand master looked with repin- 
ing at Moorish banners and weapons, which decorated his 
castle-hall, trophies of the exploits of his predecessors ; and 

Grand Master of Al-can'-ta-ra : the head of one of the religious orders 
of Spanish knighthood, which was founded in 1156 as a military fraternity for 
defence against the Moors. 



258 THE ALHAMBRA. 

repined at his fate to exist in a period of sucli inglorious 
tranquillity. 

At length his impatience broke through all bounds, and 
seeing that he could find no public war in which to engage, 
he resolved to carve out a little war for himself. Such at 
least is the account given by some ancient chronicles, 
though others give the following as the motive for this 
sudden resolution to go campaigning. 

As the grand master was one day seated at table with 
several of his cavaliers, a man suddenly entered the hall, 
— tall, meagre, and bony, with haggard countenance and 
fiery eyes. All recognized him for a hermit, who had 
been a soldier in his youth, but now led a life of penitence 
in a cave. He advanced to the table and struck upon it 
with a fist that seemed of iron. " Cavaliers," said he, 
" why sit ye here idly, with your weapons resting against 
the wall, while the enemies of the faith lord it over the 
fairest portion of the land ? " 

" Holy father, what wouldst thou have us do," asked 
the grand master, ** seeing the wars are over and our 
swords bound up by treaties of peace .-' " 

"Listen to my words," replied the hermit. "As I was 
seated late at night at the entrance of my cave, contem- 
plating the heavens, I fell into a reverie, and a wonderful 
vision was presented to me. I beheld the moon, a mere 
crescent, yet luminous as the brightest silver, and it hung 
in the heavens over the kingdom of Granada. While I 
was looking at it, behold there shot forth from the firma- 
ment a blazing star, which, as it went, drew after it all the 
stars of heaven ; and they assailed the moon and drove it 
from the skies ; and the whole firmament was filled with 
the glory of that blazing star. While mine eyes were yet 



CRUSADE OF THE GRAND MASTER. 259 

dazzled by this wondrous sight, some one stood by me 
with snowy wings and a shining countenance. ' Oh man 
of prayer,' said he, 'get thee to the grand master of Al- 
cantara and tell him of the vision thou hast beheld. He 
is the blazing star, destined to drive the crescent, the 
Moslem emblem, from the land. Let him boldly draw the 
swurd and victory will assuredly attend his banner.' " 

The grand master listened to the hermit as to a mes- 
senger from heaven, and followed his counsel in all things. 
By his advice he despatched two of his stoutest warriors 
on an embassy to the Moorish king. They entered the 
gates of Granada without molestation, as the nations were 
at peace ; and made their way to the Alhambra, where 
they were promptly admitted to the king, who received 
them in the Hall of Ambassadors. They delivered their 
message roundly and hardly. " We come, O King, from 
Don Martin Yanez de Barbudo, grand master of Alcantara; 
who affirms the faith of Jesus Christ to be true and holy, 
and that of Mahomet false and detestable, and he chal- 
lenges thee to maintain the contrary, hand to hand, in 
single combat. Shouldst thou refuse, he offers the combat 
with one hundred cavaliers against two hundred ; or, in 
like proportion to the number of one thousand, always 
allowing thy faith a double number of champions. Re- 
member, O King, that thou canst not refuse this chal- 
lenge ; since thy prophet, knowing the impossibility of 
maintaining his doctrines by argument, has commanded 
his followers to enforce them with the sword." 

The beard of King Yusef trembled with indignation. 
"The master of Alcantara," said he, "is a madman to 
send such a message, and ye are saucy knaves to bring it." 

So saying, he ordered the ambassadors to be thrown into 



26o THE ALHAMBRA. 

a dungeon, by way of giving them a lesson in diplomacy ; 
and they were roughly treated on their way thither by the 
populace, who were exasperated at this insult to their 
sovereign and their faith. 

The grand master of Alcantara could scarcely credit the 
tidings of the maltreatment of his messengers ; but the 
hermit rejoiced when they were repeated to him. "God," 
said he, "has blinded this infidel king for his downfall. 
Since he has sent no reply to thy defiance, consider it 
accepted. Marshal thy forces, therefore ; march forward 
to Granada ; pause not until thou seest the gate of Elvira. 
A miracle will be wrought in thy favor. There will be a 
great battle ; the enemy will be overthrown ; but not one 
of thy soldiers will be slain." 

The grand master called upon every warrior zealous in 
the Christian cause to aid him in this crusade. In a little 
while three hundred horsemen and a thousand foot-soldiers 
rallied under his standard. The horsemen were veterans, 
seasoned to battle and well armed ; but the infantry were 
raw and undisciplined. The victory, however, was to be 
miraculous ; the grand master was a man of surpassing 
faith, and knew that the weaker the means the greater the 
miracle. He sallied forth confidently, therefore, with his 
little army, and the hermit strode ahead, bearing a cross 
on the end of a long pole, and beneath it the pennon of 
the order of Alcantara. 

As they approached the city of Cordova they were over- 
taken by messengers, spurring in all haste, bearing mis- 
sives from the Castilian monarch, forbidding the enterprise. 
The grand master was a man of a single mind and a single 

pen'-non : a flag or streamer. 



CRUSADE OF HIE GRAND MASTER. 26 1 

will ; in other words, a man of one idea. "Were I on any 
other errand," said he, "I should obey these letters as 
coming from my lord the king ; but I am sent by a higher 
power than the king. In compliance with its commands I 
have advanced the cross thus far against the infidels ; and 
it would be treason to the standard of Christ to turn back 
without achieving my errand." 

So the trumpets were sounded ; the cross was again 
reared aloft, and the band of zealots resumed their march. 
As they passed through the streets of Cordova the people 
were amazed at beholding a hermit bearing a cross at the 
head of a warlike multitude ; but when they learnt that 
a miraculous victory was to be effected and Granada de- 
stroyed, laborers and artisans threw by the implements 
of their handicrafts and joined in the crusade; while a 
mercenary rabble followed on with a view to plunder. 

A number of cavaliers of rank who lacked faith in the 
promised miracle, and dreaded the consequences of this 
unprovoked irruption into the country of the Moor, assem- 
bled at the bridge of the Guadalquivir and endeavored to 
dissuade the grand master from crossing. He was deaf 
to prayers, expostulations, or menaces ; his followers were 
enraged at this opposition to the cause of the faith ; they 
put an end to the parley by their clamors ; the cross was 
again reared and borne triumphantly across the bridge. 

The multitude increased as it proceeded ; by the time 
the grand master had reached Alcala, which stands on a 
mountain overlooking the Vega of Granada, upwards of 
five thousand men on foot had joined his standard. 

At Alcala came forth Alonzo Fernandez de Cordova, 

zeal'-ot: one who is absorbed in devotion to any cause; an enthusiast. 



262 THE ALHAMBRA. 

Lord of Aguilar, his brother Diego Fernandez, Marshal of 
Castile, and other cavaliers of valor and experience. Plac- 
ing themselves in the way of the grand master, "What 
madness is this, Don Martin?" said they; "the Moorish 
king has two hundred thousand foot-soldiers and five thou- 
sand horse within his walls ; what can you and your hand- 
ful of cavaliers and your noisy rabble do against such force ? 
Bethink you of the disasters which have befallen other 
Christian commanders, who have crossed these rocky bor- 
ders with ten times your force. Think, too, of the mischief 
that will be brought upon this kingdom by an outrage of 
the kind committed by a man of your rank and importance, 
a grand master of Alcantara. Pause, we entreat you, while 
the truce is yet unbroken. Await within the borders the 
reply of the king of Granada to your challenge. If he 
agree to meet you singly, or with champions two or 
three, it will be your individual contest, and fight it out in 
God's name ; if he refuse, you may return home with great 
honor and the disgrace will fall upon the Moors." 
^l(V Several cavaliers, who had hitherto followed the grand 
master with devoted zeal, were moved by these expostula- 
tions, and suggested to him the policy of listening to this 
advice, 

"Cavaliers," said he, addressing himself to Alonzo Fer- 
nandez de Cordova and his companions, " I thank you for 
the counsel you have so kindly bestowed upon me, and if 
I were merely in pursuit of individual glory I might be 
swayed by it. But I am engaged to achieve a great tri- 
umph of the faith, which God is to effect by miracle 
through my means. As to you, cavaliers," turning to 
those of his followers who had wavered, "if your hearts 
fail you, or you repent of having put your hands to this 



CRUSADE OF THE GRAND MASTER. 263 

good work, return, in God's name, and my blessing go 
with you. For myself, though I have none to stand by me 
but this holy hermit, yet will I assuredly proceed, until I 
have planted this sacred- standard on the walls of Granada, 
or perished in the attempt." 

"Don Martin Yanez de Barbudo," replied the cavaliers, 
" we are not men to turn our backs upon our commander, 
however rash his enterprise. We spoke but in caution. 
Lead on, therefore, and if it be to the death, be assured to 
the death we will follow thee." 

By this time the common soldiers became impatient. 
" Forward ! forward ! " shouted they. " Forward in the 
cause of faith." So the grand master gave signal, the 
hermit again reared the cross aloft, and they poured down 
a defile of the mountain, with solemn chants of triumph. 

That night they encamped at' the river of Azores, and 
the next morning, which was Sunday, crossed the borders. 
Their first pause was at a solitary tower, built upon a rock ; 
a frontier post to keep a watch upon the border, and give 
notice of invasion. It was thence called the Tower of the 
Spy. The grand master halted before it and summoned' 
its petty garrison to surrender. He was answered by a 
shower of stones and arrows, which wounded him in the 
hand and killed three of his men. 

"How is this, father.''" said he to the hermit; "you 
assured me that not one of my followers would be slain ! " 

"True, my son ; but I meant in the great battle of the 
infidel king ; what need is there of miracle to aid in the 
capture of a petty tower ? " 

The grand master was satisfied. He ordered wood to 
be piled against the door of the tower to burn it down. 
In the meantime provisions were unloaded from the 



264 THE ALHAMBRA. 

sumpter-mules, and the crusaders, withdrawing beyond 
bow-shot, sat down on the grass to a repast to strengthen 
them for the arduous day's work before them. While thus 
engaged, they were startled by the^ sudden appearance of a 
great Moorish host. The v/atch towers had given the 
alarm by fire and smoke from the mountain-tops of "an 
enemy across the border," and the king of Granada had 
sallied forth with a great force to the encounter. 

The crusaders, nearly taken by surprise, flew to arms 
and prepared for battle. The grand master ordered his 
three hundred horsemen to dismount and fight on foot in 
support of the infantry. The Moors, however, charged 
so suddenly that they separated the cavaliers from the 
foot-soldiers and prevented their uniting. The grand 
master gave the old war-cry, " Santiago ! Santiago ! and 
close Spain ! " He and his knights breasted the fury of 
the battle, but were surrounded by a countless host and 
assailed with arrows, stones, darts, and arquebuses. Still 
they fought fearlessly and made prodigious slaughter. 
The hermit mingled in the hottest of the fight. In one 
hand he bore the cross, in the other he brandished a 
sword, with which he dealt about him like a maniac, 
slaying several of the enemy, until he sank to the ground 
covered with wounds. The grand master saw him fall, 
and saw too late the fallacies of his prophecies. Despair, 
however, only made him fight the more fiercely, until he 
also fell overpowered by numbers. His devoted cava- 
liers emulated his holy zeal. Not one turned his back 
nor asked for mercy ; all fought until they fell. As to 
the foot-soldiers, many were killed, many taken prisoners ; 

Sant'-i-a-go: St. James. 

ar'-que-buse : a sort of hand gun used before the invention of the musket. 



CRUSADE OF THE GRAND MASTER. 265 

the residue escaped to Alcala. When the Moors came to 
strip the slain, the wounds of the cavahers were all found 
to be in front. 

Such was the catastrophe of this fanatic enterprise. The 
Moors vaunted it as a decisive proof of the superior sanc- 
tity of their faith, and extolled their king to the skies when 
he returned in triumph to Granada. 

As it was satisfactorily shown that this crusade was 
the enterprise of an individual, and contrary to the ex- 
press orders of the king of Castile, the peace of the two 
kingdoms was not interrupted. Nay, the Moors evinced 
a feeling of respect for the valor of the unfortunate grand 
master, and readily gave up his body to Don Alonzo Fer- 
nandez de Cordova, who came from Alcala to seek it. 
The Christians of the frontier united in paying the last 
sad honors to his memory. His body was placed upon a 
bier, covered with the pennon of the order of Alcantara; 
and the broken cross, the emblem of his confident hopes 
and fatal disappointment, was borne before it. In this 
way his remains were carried back in funeral procession, 
through the mountain tract which he had traversed so 
resolutely. Wherever it passed, through a town or vil- 
lage, the populace followed, with tears and lamentations, 
bewailing him as a valiant knight and a martyr to the 
faith. His body was interred in the chapel of the con- 
vent of Santa Maria de Almocovara, and on his sepulchre 
may still be seen engraven in quaint and antique Spanish 
the following testimonial to his bravery : — 

HERE LIES ONE WHOSE HEART NEVER KNEW FEAR. 



266 THE ALHAMBRA. 



SPANISH ROMANCE. 



In the latter part of my sojourn in the Alhambra, I 
made frequent descents into the Library of the Univer- 
sity ; and rehshed more and more the old Spanish chron- 
icles, which I found there bound in parchment. I delight 
in those quaint histories which treat of the times when the 
Moslems maintained a foothold in the Peninsula. With all 
their bigotry and occasional intolerance, they are full of 
noble acts and generous sentiments, and have a high, 
spicy. Oriental flavor, not to be found in other records of 
the times, which were merely European. In fact, Spain, 
even at the present day, is a country apart ; severed in 
history, habits, manners, and modes of thinking, from all 
the rest of Europe. It is a romantic country ; but its 
romance has none of the sentimentality of modern Eu- 
ropean romance ; it is chiefly derived from the brilliant 
regions of the East, and from the high-minded school of 
Saracenic chivalry. 

The Arab invasion and conquest brought a higher 
civilization, and a nobler style of thinking, into Gothic 
Spain. The Arabs were a quick-witted, sagacious, proud- 
spirited, and poetical people, and were imbued with Ori- 
ental science and literature. Wherever they established 
a seat of power, it became a rallying-place for the learned 
and ingenious ; and they softened and refined the people 
whom they conquered. By degrees, occupancy seemed 



SPANISH ROMANCE. 26/ 

to give them an hereditary right to their foothold in 
the land ; they ceased to be looked upon as invaders, 
and were regarded as rival neighbors. The Peninsula, 
broken up into a variety of states, both Christian and Mos- 
lem, became, for centuries, a great campaigning-ground, 
where the art of war seemed to be the principal business 
of man, and was carried to the highest pitch of romantic 
chivalry. The original ground of hostility, a difference 
of faith, gradually lost its rancor. Neighboring states, 
of opposite creeds, ' were occasionally linked together in 
alliances, offensive and defensive ; so that the cross and 
crescent were to be seen side by side, fighting against 
some common enemy. In times of peace, too, the noble 
youth of either faith resorted to the same cities, Chris- 
tian or Moslem, to school themselves in military science. 
Even in the temporary truces of sanguinary wars, the 
warriors who had recently striven together in the deadly 
conflicts of the field, laid aside their animosity, met at 
tournaments, jousts, and other military festivities, and ex- 
changed the courtesies of gentle and generous spirits. 
Thus the opposite races became frequently mingled to- 
gether in peaceful intercourse, or if any rivalry took place, 
it was in those high courtesies and nobler acts, which 
bespeak the accomplished cavalier. Warriors, of opposite 
creeds, became ambitious of transcending each other in 
magnanimity as well as valor. Indeed the chivalric vir- 
tues were refined upon to a degree sometimes fastidious 
and constrained, but at other times noble and affecting. 
The annals of the times teem with illustrious instances 
of high-wrought courtesy, romantic generosity, lofty dis- 
interestedness, and punctilious honor, that warm the very 
soul to read them. These have furnished themes for 



268 THE ALHAMBRA. 

national plays and poems, or have been celebrated in 
those all-pervading ballads, which are as the life-breath of 
the people, and thus have continued to exercise an influence 
on the national character, which centuries of vicissitudes 
and decline have hot been able to destroy ; so that, with 
all their faults, and they are many, the Spaniards, even at 
the present day, are, on many points, the most high-minded 
and proud-spirited people of Europe. It is true, the ro- 
mance of feeling derived from the sources I have men- 
tioned, has, like all other romance, its affectations and 
extremes. It renders the Spaniard at times pompous and 
grandiloquent ; prone to carry the point of honor, beyond 
the bounds of sober sense and sound morality ; disposed, in 
the midst of poverty, to affect the "grand gentleman," and 
to look down with sovereign disdain upon " arts mechani- 
cal," and all the gainful pursuits of plebeian life ; but this 
very inflation of spirit, while it fills his brain with vapors, 
lifts him above a thousand meannesses ; and though it often 
keeps him in indigence, ever protects him from vulgarity. 

In the present day, when popular literature is running 
into the low levels of life, and luxuriating on the vices and 
follies of mankind ; and when the universal pursuit of gain is 
trampling down the early growth of poetic feeling, and wear- 
ing out the verdure of the soul, I question whether it would 
not be of service for the reader occasionally to turn to these 
records of prouder times and loftier modes of thinking ; and 
to steep himself to the very lips in old Spanish romance. 

With these preliminary suggestions, the fruit of a morn- 
ing's reading and rumination in the old library of the 
University, I will give him a legend in point, drawn forth 
from one of the venerable chronicles alluded to. 

vi-cis'-si-tude : irregular change; revolution, 
in'-di-gence : poverty. 



DON MUNIO SANCIIO DE HINOJOSA. 269 



LEGEND OF DON MUNIO SANCHO DE 
HINOJOSA. 



In the cloisters of the ancient Benedictine convent of 
San Domingo, at Silos, in Castile, are the mouldering yet 
magnificent monuments of the once powerful and chiv- 
alrous family of Hinojosa. Among these reclines the 
marble figure of a knight, in complete armor, with the 
hands pressed together, as if in prayer. On one side of 
his tomb is sculptured in relief a band of Christian cava- 
liers, capturing a cavalcade of male and female Moors ; on 
the other side, the same cavaliers are represented kneeling 
before an altar. The tomb, like most of the neighboring 
monuments, is almost in ruins, and the sculpture is nearly 
unintelligible, excepting to the keen eye of the antiquary. 
The story connected with the sepulchre, however, is still 
preserved in the old Spanish chronicles, and is to the fol- 
lowing purport. 

In old times, several hundred years ago, there was a 
noble Castilian cavalier, named Don Munio Sancho de 
Hinojosa, lord of a border castle, which had stood the 
brunt of many a Moorish foray. He had seventy horse- 
men as his household troops, all of the ancient Castilian 
proof; stark warriors, hard riders, and men of iron; with 
these he scoured the Moorish lands, and made his name 
terrible throu<rhout the borders. His castle-hall was cov- 



2/0 THE ALHAMBRA. 

ered with banners, cimeters, and Moslem helms, the tro- 
phies of his prowess. Don Munio was, moreover, a keen 
huntsman, and rejoiced in hounds of all kinds, steeds 
for the chase, and hawks for the towering sport of fal- 
conry. When not engaged in warfare his delight was to 
beat up the neighboring forests ; and scarcely ever did 
he ride forth without hound and horn, a boar-spear in 
his hand, or a hawk upon his fist, and an attendant train 
of huntsmen. 

His wife, Dona Maria Palacin, was of a gentle and timid 
nature, little fitted to be the spouse of so hardy and adven- 
turous a knight ; and many a tear did the poor lady shed, 
when he sallied forth upon his daring enterprises, and 
many a prayer did she offer up for his safety. 

As this doughty cavalier was one day hunting, he 
stationed himself in a thicket, on the borders of a green 
glade of the forest, and dispersed his followers to rouse 
the game, and drive it toward his stand. He had not 
been here long, when a cavalcade of Moors of both sexes, 
came pranking over the forest-lawn. They were unarmed, 
and magnificently dressed in robes of tissue and embroid- 
ery, rich shawls of India, bracelets and anklets of gold, 
and jewels that sparkled in the sun. 

At the head of this gay cavalcade rode a youthful 
cavalier, superior to the rest in dignity and loftiness of 
demeanor, and in splendor of attire : beside him was a 
damsel, whose veil, blown aside by the breeze, displayed a 
face of surpassing beauty, and eyes cast down in maiden 
modesty, yet beaming with tenderness and joy. 

Don Munio thanked his stars for sending him such a 

helm: helmet; a defensive covering for the head when knights were 
clothed in armor. 



DON MUNIO SANCHO DE HI NO JOS A. 27 1 

prize, and exulted at the thought of bearing home to his 
wife the glittering spoils of these infidels. Putting his hunt- 
ing-horn to his lips, he gave a blast that rung through the 
forest. His huntsmen came running from all quarters, and 
the astonished Moors were surrounded and made captives. 

The beautiful Moor wrung her hands in despair, and 
her female attendants uttered the most piercing cries. 
The young Moorish cavalier alone retained self-posses- 
sion. He inquired the name of the Christian knight who 
commanded this troop of horsemen. When told that it 
was Don Munio Sancho de Hinojosa, his countenance 
lighted up. Approaching that cavalier, and kissing his 
hand, "Don Munio Sancho," said he, "I have heard of 
your fame as a true and valiant knight, terrible in arms, 
but schooled in the noble virtues of chivalry. Such do 
I trust to find you. In me you behold Abadil, son of a 
Moorish official of rank. I am on the way to celebrate my 
nuptials with this lady ; chance has thrown us in your 
power, but I confide in your magnanimity. Take all our 
treasure and jewels; demand what ransom you think 
proper for our persons, but suffer us not to be insulted 
nor dishonored." 

When the good knight heard this appeal, and beheld 
the beauty of the youthful pair, his heart was touched with 
tenderness and courtesy. "God forbid," said he, "that I 
should disturb such happy nuptials. My prisoners in troth 
shall ye be, for fifteen days, and immured within my castle, 
where I claim, as conqueror, the right of celebrating your 
espousals." 

nup'-tials : marriage. 

ran'-som : the price paid for the redemption of a prisoner, or for goods 
captured by an enemy. 

es-pous'-als : the marriage ceremony. 



2/2 THE ALHAMBRA. 

So saying, he despatched one of his fleetest horsemen 
in advance, to notify Dona Maria Palacin of the coming of 
this bridal party ; while he and his huntsmen escorted the 
cavalcade, not as captors, but as a guard of honor. As 
they drew near to the castle, the banners were hung out, 
and the trumpets sounded from the battlements ; and on 
tiieir nearer approach, the drawbridge was lowered, and 
Dona Maria came forth to meet them, attended by her 
ladies and knights, her pages and her minstrels. She 
took the young bride, Allifra, in her arms, kissed her with 
the tenderness of a sister, and conducted her into the 
castle. In the meantime, Don Munio sent forth missives 
in every direction, and had viands and dainties of all kinds 
collected from the country round ; and the wedding of the 
Moorish lovers was celebrated with all possible state and 
festivity. For fifteen days the castle was given up to joy 
and revelry. There were tiltings and jousts at the ring, 
and bull-fights, and banquets, and dances to the sound of 
minstrelsy. When the fifteen days were at an end, he 
made the bride and bridegroom magnificent presents, and 
conducted them and their attendants safely beyond the 
borders. Such, in old times, were the courtesy and gener- 
osity of a Spanish cavalier. 

Several years after this event, the king of Castile sum- 
moned his nobles to assist him in a campaign against the 
Moors. Don Munio Sancho was among the first to answer 
to the call, with seventy horsemen, all stanch and well-tried 
warriors. His wife. Dona Maria, hung about his neck. 
"Alas, my lord!" exclaimed she, "how often wilt thou 

draw'-bridge : a bridge which could be drawn up or let down at pleasure 
before the gate of a town or castle, 
vi'-ands : food; provisions. 



DON MUNIO SANCHO DE HINOJOSA. 2/3 

tempt thy fate, and when will thy thirst for glory be 
appeased ! " 

" One battle more," replied Don Munio, " one battle 
more, for the honor of Castile, and I here make a vow, 
that when this is over, I will lay by my sword, and repair 
with my cavaliers in pilgrimage to the sepulchre of our 
Lord at Jerusalem." The cavaliers all joined with him in 
the vow, and Doiia Maria felt in some degree soothed in 
spirit ; still, she saw with a heavy heart the departure of 
her husband, and watched his banner with wistful eyes, 
until it disappeared among the trees of the forest. 

The king of Castile led his army to the plains of Alma- 
nara, where they encountered the Moorish host. The 
battle was long and bloody ; the Christians repeatedly 
wavered and were as often rallied by the energy of their 
commanders. Don Munio was covered with wounds, but 
refused to leave the field. The Christians at length gave 
way, and the king was hardly pressed, and in danger of 
being captured. 

Don Munio called upon his cavaliers to follow him to 
the rescue. "Now is the time," cried he, "to prove your 
loyalty. Fall to, like brave men ! We fight for the true 
faith, and if we lose our lives here, we gain a better life 
hereafter." 

Rushing with his men between the king and his pur- 
suers, they checked the latter in their career, and gave 
time for their monarch to escape ; but they fell victims to 
their loyalty. They all fought to the last gasp. Don 
Munio was singled out by a powerful Moorish knight, but 
having been wounded in the right arm, he fought to dis- 
advantage, and was slain. The battle being over, the 

pil'-grim-age : a journey to some sacred place. 



2/4 ^^-^ ALHAMBRA. 

Moor paused to possess himself of the spoils of this re- 
doubtable Christian warrior. When he unlaced the hel- 
met, however, and beheld the countenance of Don Munio, 
he gave a great cry and smote his breast. " Woe is me ! " 
cried he, " I have slain my benefactor ! The flower of 
knightly virtue ! the most magnanimous of cavaliers ! " 

While the battle had been raging on the plains of Al- 
manara, Dona Maria Palacin remained in her castle, a 
prey to the keenest anxiety. Her eyes were ever fixed 
on the road that led from the country of the Moors, and 
often she asked the watchman of the tower, "What seest 
thou.?" 

One evening, at the shadowy hour of twilight, the 
warden sounded his horn. "I see," cried he, "a numer- 
ous train winding up the valley. They are mingled Moors 
and Christians. The banner of my lord is in the advance. 
Joyful tidings!" exclaimed the old seneschal; "my lord 
returns in triumph, and brings captives ! " Then the castle 
courts rang with shouts of joy ; and the standard was 
displayed, and the trumpets were sounded, and the draw- 
bridge was lowered, and Dona Maria went forth with her 
ladies, and her knights, and her pages, and her minstrels, 
to welcome her lord from the wars. But as the train drew 
nigh, she beheld a sumptuous bier, covered with black 
velvet, and on it lay a warrior, as if taking his repose : he 
lay in his armor, with his helmet on his head, and his 
sword in his hand, as one who had never been conquered, 
and around the bier were the escutcheons of the house of 
Hinojosa. 

sen'-es-chal : an officer in the houses of princes and dignitaries in the 
Middle Ages, who had the charge of feasts and domestic ceremonies. 



DON MUNIO SANCHO DE HINOJOSA. 275 

A number of Moorish cavaliers attended the bier, with 
emblems of mourning, and with dejected countenances ; 
and their leader cast himself at the feet of Dona Maria, 
and hid his face in his hands. She beheld in him the 
gallant Abadil, whom she had once welcomed with his 
bride to her castle ; but who now came with the body of 
her lord, whom he had unknowingly slain in battle ! 

The sepulchre erected in the cloisters of the convent 
of San Domingo, was achieved at the expense of the Moor, 
Abadil, as a feeble testimony of his grief for the death of 
the good knight, Don Munio, and his reverence for his 
memory. The tender and faithful Dona Maria soon fol- 
lowed her lord to the tomb. On one of the stones of a 
small arch, beside his sepulchre, is the following simple 
inscription: "Here lies Maria Palacin, wife of Munio 
Sancho de Hinojosa." 

The legend of Don Munio Sancho does not conclude 
with his death. On the same day on which the battle 
took place on the plains of Almanara, a chaplain of the 
Holy Temple at Jerusalem, while standing at the outer 
gate, beheld a train of Christian cavaliers advancing, as 
if in pilgrimage. The chaplain was a native of Spain, and 
as the pilgrims approached, he knew the foremost to be 
Don Munio Sancho de Hinojosa, with whom he had been 
well acquainted in former times. Hastening to the pa- 
triarch, he told him of the honorable rank of the pilgrims 
at the gate. The patriarch, therefore, went forth with a 
grand procession of priests and monks, and received the 
pilgrims with all due honor. There were seventy cava- 
liers beside their leader, — all stark and lofty warriors. 
They carried their helmets in their hands, and their 



2/6 THE ALHAMBKA. 

faces were deadly pale. They greeted no one, nor looked 
either to the right or to the left, but entered the chapel, 
and kneeling before the sepulchre of our Saviour, per- 
formed their orisons in silence. When they had con- 
cluded, they rose as if to depart, and the patriarch and 
his attendants advanced to speak to them, but they were 
no more to be seen. Every one marvelled what could 
be the meaning of this prodigy. The patriarch carefully 
noted down the day, and sent to Castile to learn tidings 
of Don Munio Sancho de Hinojosa. He received for re- 
ply, that on the very day specified, that worthy knight, 
with seventy of his followers, had been slain in battle. 
These, therefore, must have been the blessed spirits of 
those Christian warriors, come to fulfil their vow of pil- 
grimage to the Holy Sepulchre at Jerusalem. Such was 
Castilian faith in the olden time, which kept its word, 
even beyond the grave. 



2^HE AUTHOR'S FAREWELL TO GRANADA. 277 



THE AUTHOR'S FAREWELL TO GRANADA. 



My serene and happy reign in the Alhambra was sud- 
denly brought to a close by letters which reached me, 
while indulging in Oriental luxury in the cool hall of the 
baths, summoning me away from my Moslem elysium, to 
mingle once more in the bustle and business of the dusty 
world. How was I to encounter its toils and turmoils, 
after such a life of repose and reverie ! How was I to 
endure its commonplace, after the poetry of the Alhambra ! 

But little preparation was necessary for my departure. 
A two-wheeled vehicle, called a tartana, very much re- 
sembling a covered cart, was to be the travelling equi- 
page of a young Englishman and myself through Murcia, 
to Alicant and Valencia, on our way to France ; and a 
long-limbed varlet, who had been a smuggler, and, for 
aught I knew, a robber, was to be our guide and guard. 
The preparations were soon made, but the departure was 
the difficulty. Day after day it was postponed ; day after 
day was spent lingering about my favorite haunts, and 
day after day they appeared more delightful in my eyes. 

The social and domestic little world also, in which I 
had been moving, had become singularly endeared to 
me; and the concern evinced by them at my intended 
departure, convinced me that my kind feelings were recip- 

elysium {^e-lizh'-e-um) : in Greek and Reman mythology, the place of happy 
souls after death; any delightful place. 



2/8 THE ALHAMBRA. 

rocated. Indeed, when at length the day arrived, I did 
not dare venture upon a leave-taking at the good dame 
Antonia's ; I saw the soft heart of little Dolores, at least, 
was brim full and ready for an overflow. So I bade a 
silent adieu to the palace and its inmates, and descended 
into the city as if intending to return. There, however, 
the tartana and the guide were ready ; so, after, taking a 
noon-day's repast with my fellow-traveller at the inn, I set 
out with him on our journey. 

Manuel, the nephew of Tia Anton ia, Mateo, my officious 
but now disconsolate squire, and two or three old invalids 
of the Alhambra with whom I had grown into gossiping 
companionship, had come down to see me off ; for it is one 
of the good old customs of Spain, to sally forth several 
miles to meet a coming friend, and to accompany him as 
'far on his departure. Thus then we set out, our long- 
legged guard striding ahead, with his gun on his shoulder; 
Manuel and Mateo on each side of the tartana, and the old 
invalids behind. 

At some little distance to the north of Granada, the 
road gradually ascends the hills ; here I alighted and 
walked up slowly with Manuel, who took this occasion to 
confide to me the secret of his heart and of all those 
tender concerns between himself and Dolores, with which 
I had been already informed by the all-knowing and all- 
revealing Mateo Ximenes. His doctor's diploma had pre- 
pared the way for their union, and if he could get the 
post of physician of the fortress, his happiness would be 
complete! I congratulated him on the judgment and 
good taste he had shown in his choice of a helpmate and 
invoked all possible felicity on their union. 

It was indeed a sorrowful parting when I took leave 



THE AUTHOR'S FAREWELL TO GRANADA. 279 

of these good people and saw them slowly descend the 
hills ; now and then turning round to wave me a last 
adieu. Manuel, it is true, had cheerful prospects to con- 
sole him, but poor Mateo seemed perfectly cast down. 
It was to him a grievous fall from the station 6f prime 
minister and historiographer, to his old brown cloak and 
his starveling mystery of ribbon-weaving ; and the poor 
devil, notwithstanding his occasional officiousness, had, 
somehow or other, acquired a stronger hold on my sym- 
pathies than I was aware of. It would have really been 
a consolation in parting, could I have anticipated the good 
fortune in store for him, and to which I had contributed ; 
for the importance I had appeared to give to his tales and 
gossip and local knowledge, and the frequent companion- 
ship in which I had indulged him in the course of my 
strolls, had elevated his idea of his own qualifications and 
opened a new career to him ; and the son of the Alhambra 
has since become its regular and well-paid cicerone ; inso- 
much that I am told he has never been obliged to resume 
the ragged old brown cloak in which I first found him. 

Towards sunset I came to where the road wound into 
the mountains, and here I paused to take a last look at 
Granada. The hill on which I stood commanded a glo- 
rious view of the city, the Vega, and the surrounding 
mountains. I now could realize something of the feelings 
of poor Boabdil when he bade adieu to the paradise he 
was leaving behind, and beheld before him a rugged and 
sterile road conducting him to exile. 

The setting sun as usual shed a melancholy effulgence 
on the ruddy towers of the Alhambra. I could faintly 
discern the balconied window of the tower of Comares, 
where I had indulged in so many delightful reveries. 



28o THE ALHAMBRA. 

The bosky groves and gardens about the city were richly 
gilded with the sunshine, the purple haze of a summer 
evening was gathering over the Vega ; everything was 
lovely, but tenderly and sadly so, to my parting gaze. 

"I will hasten from this prospect," thought I, "before 
the sun is set, I will carry away a recollection of it 
clothed in all its beauty." 

With these thoughts I pursued my way among the 
mountains. A little further and Granada, the Vega, and 
the Alhambra, were shut from my view ; and thus ended 
one of the pleasantest dreams of a life, which the reader 
perhaps may think has been but too much made up of 
dreams. 

bosk'-y : woody. 



THE END. 



NOTES. 



Note I. 

In 711 the peninsula of Spain was invaded by the Saracens or Moors, who 
were Mohammedans from the northern part of Africa. At first the invasion 
was intended by their governor, Musa, as a raid for plunder, but under the 
leadership of his general, 'J'aric, and through the treachery of the Spanish 
governor of Ceuta, a fortress on the African coast, overlooking the straits of 
Gibraltar, a horde of Moslem soldiers poured into Spain, and most unexpected 
conquest followed. 

Within the ne.\t four years the whole southern part of the Peninsula had 
been subdued, and the Spanish people driven into the northern mountainous 
districts. 

Elated by their success the Moors hoped for the conquest of Western 
Europe, and invaded France, where they were for a time victorious; but in 
732 they were so completely routed by the French king, Charles Martel, at 
the battle of Tours that they made no further attempts to enter the country. 

For over seven hundred years they remained in Spain, though a constant 
warfare was kept up between them and the different kingdoms into which the 
northern part of the peninsula was divided. 

In the thirteenth century they had been so far conquered that their rule was 
restricted to the beautiful and fertile province of Granada, and as a condition 
of peace they were obliged to pay a yearly tribute of 12,000 gold ducats to 
their Christian foes. 

Here they made a final stand for another two hundred and fifty years, but 
towards the latter part of the fifteenth century the Moorish king, Muly Abel 
Hassan, a most cruel and warlike monarch, refused to pay the tribute any 
longer. He led his army out of Granada and made a raid upon the Christian 
city of Zahara, which he surprised in the midst of a stormy winter's night. 
Having overcome the garrison, he plundered the city, laid it waste, slaughtered 
many of the people, and treated the unfortunate captives whom he brought 
back with the utmost cruelty. So shocking were his deeds that many of his 
own people cried : " Woe to Granada ! the hour of its destruction is at hand." 
This act so aroused the Christians that from this time the warfare was almost 

281 



282 THE ALHAMBRA. 

incessant, and in 1491 Boabdil, the last of the Moorish kings, the weak and 
vacillating son of Muly Abel Hassan, delivered up the keys of Granada to 
Ferdinand and Isabella. 

Those who enjoy the recital of the deeds of these stirring times are recom- 
mended to read Irving's Conquest of Granada and Lockhart's Spanish Ballads. 

Note 2. 

The bull fight, the chief pastime of the Spanish people, is a most cruel and 
revolting sport. It takes place in a large circular arena, surrounded by 
raised seats. The circus at Madrid is capable of holding 12,000 people and 
the spectacle is patronized by all classes. The combat is between bulls and 
men trained to the profession, some of whom fight on foot and others on 
horseback. Human life is rarely sacrificed, but many bulls, and often horses, 
are killed at each exhibition. 

Note 3. 

Don Quixote is the hero of a famous Spanish romance of the same name, 
by Cervantes (1547-1616). He is represented as a country gentleman, who 
spends his money in buying, and his time in reading, tales of chivalry, to the 
neglect of his domestic affairs. Having " his imagination full of all that he 
had read; of enchantments, contests, battles, challenges, tortures, and impos- 
sible absurdities," he determines to set forth, like a wandering knight, to do 
battle against all sorts of wrongs. He is accompanied by his squire, Sancho 
Panza, and the two meet with many amusing adventures. The tale was writ- 
ten not only to show the absurdities into which writers on chivalry had been 
led, but it was also a protest against the prejudice, common to Spain and other 
countries at that time, against any sort of useful labor, whether of brains or 
of hands. 

Note 4. 

About the beginning of the seventh century an Arabian prophet, called 
Mohammed, began to preach the religion of Islam, or entire submission to 
the will of God, to his idolatrous countrymen. The Hebrew religion had been 
carried into Arabia by Jewish colonists, who established themselves in the 
northern part of the Peninsula, after the destruction of Jerusalem; and 
Christianity also had its disciples in the country. 

The new religion was built upon the teachings of the Old Testament, with 
additions and alterations. Of the Christian religion Mohammed knew but 
little; he had, however, reverence for its founder, whom he ranked as the 
greatest prophet next to himself. He recognized six persons as especially 
commissioned to proclaim new laws and dispensations, each of which had in 



NOTES. 283 

time taken the place of the preceding one. These teachers \\ere Adam, Noah, 
Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and Mohammed — the last and greatest of them all. 

He set forth his doctrines in a series of writings called the Koran — the 
sacred book of the Aloslems or Mohammedans. The two principal articles of 
l)elief are contained in the oft-repeated words " There is no God but Allah, 
and Mohammed is his prophet." 

He was born at Mecca, a city some forty miles from the Red Sea, to which 
numbers of the Arab tribes resorted at that time, on the pilgrimages prescribed 
by their ancient idolatrous creed. In this city was the Caaba, or Kaaba, an 
ancient building, in which was set a black stone, said to have fallen with 
Adam from Paradise. The belief in the sacredness of the Kaaba and the 
ceremonies of the pilgrimage were incorporated in the new belief; but all for- 
mer idolatrous practices were strictly forbidden, and fasting, prayer, and 
almsgiving were enjoined. 

For some time after Mohammed began to preach, but little attention was 
paid to his doctrines by the people of Mecca, but they finally became alarmed, 
as the number of his disciples increased, and they rose in anger against the 
prophet who " called their ancient gods idols, and their ancestors fools." 
Mohammed accordingly fled with his followers from the city, and sought 
refuge in Medina, and from this flight, or Ilegira, the Mohammedan era is 
dated. 

In this city he was better appreciated, and soon rose to the position of law- 
giver and judge. He drew to himself many disciples and sent his missionaries 
all over Arabia and into neighboring countries. He then proclaimed a holy 
war against the enemies of Islam, at first confining himself to attacking cara- 
vans of merchants on their way to Syria. As his forces became more numer- 
ous, and his power increased, he engaged in many battles, and at last he 
besieged Mecca at the head of ten thousand men, took the city, and was 
publicly recognized as its chief and prophet. 

Before Mohammed's time the Arabs had been a collection of rival tribes, 
but he consolidated them into the Moslem people and made himself the mas- 
ter of Arabia. 

His followers carried their conquest over Syria, Persia, and as far as 
Spain, and finally placed the crescent, the emblem of their religion, on the 
spires of the great Christian cathedral of St. Sophia at Constantinople, where 
it still remains. To-day about thirty millions of people profess the faith of 
Islam. 

Note 5. 

Spain in the time of the Greeks and Romans was known as Iberia or His- 
pania. Its people were made up from many different races, some of whom 



284 THE ALHAMBRA. 

had colonized its coasts, and others had from time to time overrun the coun- 
try and made themselves its masters. 

At the time of the Saracen or Moorish invasion, the Goths, the last con- 
querors of Spain after the fall of the Roman Empire, held the governing 
power, though the Peninsula was subdivided into many petty kingdoms. 

In 1469 Arragon and Castile, two of the most powerful states, were united 
by the marriage of their sovereigns, Ferdinand and Isabella, names of great 
interest to Americans, as it was under their patronage, especially that of the 
queen, that Christopher Columbus sailed forth to the discovery of the New 
World. 

It was to them also that the Moorish King Boabdil surrendered his strong- 
hold, and they rode into Granada the masters of united Spain. 

Their grandson Charles V. (i 500-1 558) was the ablest and most powerful 
monarch of the sixteenth century. From his father he inherited the arch- 
duchy of Austria and the kingdom of the Netherlands; from his grandparents 
all .Spain, increased by the addition of the Two Sicilies (1504) and by the 
annexation of the southern part of Navarre. In his reign Mexico and Peru 
were added to Spain's possessions, and his power was further augmented by 
his election as Emperor of Germany. This was the period of Spain's greatest 
glory. 

Under succeeding monarchs of lesser ability, and after many wars, the 
power of the country waned, but a fresh period of activity was entered upon 
when in 1700 the kingdom came to Philip V., a prince of the house of 
Bourbon. 

Aftei the French Revolution Napoleon invaded the country, deposed the 
king, Ferdinand VII., and placed his own brother on the throne. The Span- 
iards revolted, and, aided by the armies of Great Britain, expelled the French 
from the Peninsula in 181 4. 

Note 6. 

In the Middle Ages emblems or devices were pictured on the shields of 
knights, and afterwards embroidered on the surcoat or garment worn over the 
coat of mail — from this came the designation coat of arms. These devices 
were of practical use, since they identified the wearer, whose face, when in 
battle, was concealed by the visor of his helmet. 

At first every knight chose his emblem according to his fancy, and all sorts 
of animals, imaginary monsters, plants, and forms of many other objects were 
used. When possible, the symbol suggested the name, title, or some distin- 
guishing quality of its bearer, — a custom which has its counterpart among the 
American Indians. 



NOTES. 285 

As these coats-of-arms became numerous, great confusion arose, for the 
same emblem was often taken by different knights. In the course of time it 
was found necessary to regulate the bearing of coats-of-arms, as they were 
made hereditary, and descended from their original bearer to his heirs. 

This regulation respecting coats-of-arms was intrusted to heralds, who 
were officers appointed by their sovereigns, and who had various other duties 
to perform, such as to marshal processions, superintend public ceremonies, 
bear messages of courtesy or defiance between princes or knights, and to take 
charge of tournaments, jousts, and all other exercises of chivalry. 

An escutcheon represents an old knightly shield, with a coat-of-arms depicted 
upon it. 

Where a family is entitled by inheritance to bear several coats-of-arms, the 
escutcheon is divided into parts called quarlerings, upon each of which the 
different emblems are emblazoned. 



J'lL -3 I'M 



